A Tale Of Grace
by SophieLhant7
Summary: The world is changing. A terror attack leads to chaos. Kara is on the move, their goals uncertain. The specter of a Great Ninja War looms large. Boruto & friends need to hold strong in each other to weather this storm, but not all of them will make it through the dark. This is a story of trust, betrayal, love, hate, life, and death. This is A Tale of Grace. Book 1/7 of AToG Series.
1. The Calm Before The Storm

_**It's finally happened! I'm beginning to upload the story I've been working on for just over a year now (13-14 months?). This is my first time making a story, and a series, as long as this. I've planned seven books, of which I've concretely planned around 3 1/2. But planning and framing the story is the easy stage. Actually writing the story is most difficult. But, it is most fulfilling as well.**_

_**And I enjoy writing and imagining this all play out. I just hope that you all enjoy this work of mine just as much! ^_^**_

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Calm Before The Storm**

A calm breeze blew in the air, and a beautiful scarlet sunset shone its last rays of light for the day onto Konoha, as the sun began to disappear below the horizon. One by one, the streetlamps and lights in the residential and commercial areas flickered on. Just another busy day, and night, in the city of Konoha; the old walls and buildings from times past contrasting with the ever-modernizing, always bustling, city center. The marketplace of Konoha, near the center of the city, was lighting up as people come from all over the city to buy, eat, drink, socialize, and hang out with their friends.

"Another day of patrols," Kiba sighed, with Akamaru in tow as usual. "I mean, nothing really bad ever really happens anymore."

The head of the Konoha Police Force, Kotaro, scoffed at him. "Well, there were the Byakuka Gang robberies a while back, remember that? There are other attempted robberies, suicides, and petty crimes from time to time. And there was that attack by Sumire Kakei and Nue, but that was a one-off and shouldn't happen again. And you have the Momoshiki Attacks too."

Kiba growled, annoyed that he was corrected. "Well yeah, but those don't happen often at all, do they?"

"Hahahahaha… well true, but what's a police force for if we don't patrol and make sure they don't happen often?"

Another groan left Kiba, who gave up trying to talk his way out of the patrol. "I guess so…"

"Also, remember…" Kotaro patted Kiba on the shoulder and leaned in closer to him, afraid that other passersby would hear him and become panicked. "We've received reports from Lord Seventh and the intel division headed by Sai. They're saying that the Kara organization is planning something. Better keep an eye out for anything suspicious, inside and outside the city walls."

Kiba remembered what Naruto and Sasuke told him about Kara, their aims, powers, and methods. It reminded him a lot of the Akatsuki, but he wasn't that concerned. After all, the world is now united, and the Five Great Nations and several smaller nations, such as The Land of Rain, The Land of Grass, and The Land of Sound, are all in the Shinobi Union. And not to mention, they do have several of the strongest and most skilled ninja in history, with Naruto and Sasuke on top of that list.

_Still,_ Kiba thought, _it doesn't hurt to be cautious._ He nodded to Kotaro, and they, along with an eager Akamaru, went along on their patrol.

*******XXXXXXX*******

At the Hokage's Residence, Naruto was finishing up all the reports and papers for the day. Today was lighter than usual, he noticed, as he printed the last documents and turned his chair around to face the sunset. He had not seen one this beautiful in a long while, with the sun almost completely down, and the rolling, puffy clouds illuminated in differing shades of orange, scarlet, and red. The door opened, and Shikamaru entered with some take-home ramen from Ichiraku.

"Those sunsets aren't that rare, you know? It's just that you always have your back towards it while doing your work." Shikamaru put down the ramen on the table, and noticed that Naruto has shut down his computer. "So that's why you noticed the sunset. You're already done for today. Heh, that's surprising, considering you always end up finishing the day closer to 10 pm, and it's such a drag."

Naruto replied, "Yeah, today was sorta light, you know? But I'm actually waiting on Sai and Sasuke to come. They should have more information about what Kara is up to."

"Well, I bought you the ramen you love, so we can eat while waiting for them." They fix the table up and eat the ramen. Halfway through the meal, Sai rushed into the room.

"We've intercepted a message, from someone outside the city to someone inside," Sai informed Naruto and Shikamaru. "Encrypted and coded. I deeply suspect it has to be Kara though, no one else would have to use a secret code."

Shikamaru nodded. "It's surely Kara then. How long will it take you to decipher it?"

"I don't know. We haven't deciphered their encryption yet, though we have another coded missive from three months ago, and one from two weeks ago. We haven't deciphered those yet either, but we can compare the three letters to try and figure out the code."

Naruto stood up from his table and addressed Sai. "I know you can do it, Sai. You're the head of the intelligence team after all. Anyway, please send a message to Sasuke, and tell him to be here ASAP. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yes Lord Seventh", Sai replied and left the room.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru with worry. At that very moment, there was someone in the village connected to Kara and communicating with them. "An insider infiltrating Konoha…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Night had fallen, and Boruto was leaving his house with Himawari, while Hinata waved from the front door and reminded them to stay safe. Boruto had organized a get-together for the whole group tonight, albeit on short notice, at the burger place that he and his friends love to eat at, Thunder Burger. He looked up at the starry night sky, and as he was walking, he reflected on what had been a couple of very busy weeks. It has been around three months since the whole group was last together, and the reason for their lack of regular hangouts was because of the spike in the number of missions lately, which in turn was mainly due to reports of sightings of Kara members all around the ninja world, as well as some reactionaries in several nations trying to instigate unrest. The one goal of those reactionaries was to stop and reverse the progress made in the fields of science, economy, and society, so that they could return their nation to its former glory and greatness, and live the way their forefathers intended, or something like that. Boruto brushed their goal off as complete nonsense.

Boruto then reflected on how far his group of friends has come. Back then, there were the original 10 members of their closely bonded group, which were himself, Sarada, Mitsuki, Shikadai, Inojin, Chocho, Iwabe, Denki, Metal Lee, and Sumire. After the failed Chunin exams and Momoshiki's attack, Wasabi and Namida gradually became closer to the group. In turn, they all embraced them and welcomed them, bringing the group of friends to 12 members. Additionally, ever since she entered into the academy and was studying and training to become a genin, Himawari practically joined up with their group and goes to all their hangouts, and became close with Sarada, Sumire, and Inojin, particularly with Inojin because of their shared love of art, and their supposed "teacher-student" relationship in terms of said art. Boruto made a mental note to observe if that was actually how far their relationship goes. And at the moment, Ryogi was currently being integrated into the group as well, at the request of Shikadai.

After his release from the Konoha Prison two years ago, Ryogi had travelled back to his homeland, the Land of Frost, to recover all the belongings of his family that remained in their tent home. Their home was on the remote northern snowy steppes of the Frost Nation, far away from the capital city of Shimo. There wasn't much to bring back at all, just pictures of happier times, and family heirlooms. Before he left to return to Konoha, he also made sure to put a marker on the graves of his parents, so if ever he would return one day, he would know where to pay a visit.

Upon his return to Konoha, Ryogi spent months trying to find work to get some money and a place to stay in, but never got a long-term job due to the fact that he was imprisoned. That's when he remembered Shikadai. He turned up at Shikadai's door one day, out of the blue, asking for help. It wasn't Shikadai who answered though, but Temari instead. Boruto clearly remembered how Temari thought Ryogi was sketchy, how badly Temari beat up Ryogi with her fan, and just how lucky Ryogi was when Shikadai and Boruto returned from Thunder Burger, just in the nick of time, to save their old redhead friend from further humiliation.

Afterwards, Ryogi and Shikadai rekindled their friendship, and once Shikadai vouched for Ryogi, Temari let him stay and live in their house. The two boys always played Shogi together, with Shikamaru joining in his spare time. Shikamaru even praised Ryogi's tactical genius, as he managed to best Shikamaru one time using an unexpected charge. Ryogi did lose to Shikamaru over seventy times, but credit to Ryogi; he did have that one win, which even Shikadai had not even managed to do.

Ever since Ryogi and Shikadai became closer, Shikadai brought Ryogi along with him to the group when they hung out together, and so he was slowly becoming part of the group. '_That's great,' _Boruto thought as he neared the front door of the restaurant. '_Ryogi needs the support.'_

Just as he was about to go inside his favorite restaurant, he heard two very familiar voices calling out his name. He turned to where the sound came from. He saw two girls waving at him.

"Boruto! Hima-chan!" shouted the one with black hair and wearing a red shirt with black shorts.

"Boruto-kun! Hima-chan!" said the one with violet hair and wearing a purple dress.

"Sarada! Sumire!" Boruto and Himawari waited for them to arrive, and they shared a group hug.

"How have you been?" asked Himawari.

"Sarada and I were having mango and banana graham shakes a few hours ago, when we got Boruto-kun's message about the hangout," Sumire told her.

"Short notice much," remarked Sarada. "We had to rush to make it."

"I'm so sorry, I suddenly thought about it and today seemed like a good day when everyone should be free," Boruto explained as they entered the building. Everyone else was already there, with the exception of Wasabi and Namida. Boruto wondered for a split-second as to where they could be, only to realize the obvious answer. "Sumire, are Wasabi and Namida on another date?"

Sumire and Sarada both grinned happily. "Yep! We were actually accompanying them awhile ago so Namida's parents wouldn't think anything was suspicious," Sarada informed him.

"Don't worry Boruto-kun," Sumire added, "they'll make it here later. Just give them some private time."

"Come on already guys! I'M STARVING TO DEATH HERE!" Chocho complained and writhed in agony.

"But you're eating potato chips right now," Denki pointed out, only to receive a death glare from Chocho, which only made everyone else laugh even harder.

They joined up the tables so they could all fit. There were already 12 people there; Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Sumire, Shikadai, Ryogi, Inojin, Himawari, Chocho, Denki, Iwabe, Metal Lee, with two more to come, so everyone made sure to leave two adjacent seats empty for Wasabi and Namida. They all ordered their food, and once they sat back down to eat, they started catching up. The table became very lively as they exchanged stories of missions, theories on Kara and their motives, and personal experiences since the last time they all met up more than three months ago.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Wasabi and Namida were at the tail end after their romantic dinner date. The two lovebirds had spent the day hanging out with Sarada and Sumire, and after those two left to prepare for the get-together, they had a picnic on the grassy area along the river. They had Wasabi's favorite, baked salmon, as well as Namida's favorite, banana pie. There, they watched the sun set, the sky turn black, and the stars come out one by one.

"The night sky is so beautiful," Namida commented as she was lying down on the soft grass. "I'm glad we're able to see the stars here along the riverbanks, away from the light pollution of the rest of Konoha."

"There are so many stars," Wasabi replied. "But I only ever notice one out of all of them."

"Which one? Sirius? Aldebaran? Betelgeuse? Rigel? Polaris?"

"No, not any one of those. The only star I notice, and the one I love to see the most… is you."

Namida shivered a bit, partly because of the cold night air, but also because of her Wasabi's loving words. Wasabi noticed her shuddering, and hugged her tight. Namida returned the hug and kissed Wasabi on the cheek as well. After a few more minutes of stargazing and pressing into each other's warm embrace, the two girls packed up and started walking to the burger place, Namida leaning her head on Wasabi's shoulder.

"Namida, I have an idea! To make up for being late, how about we buy some drinks for the group?"

"I'm sure they'll be alright with us being a bit late," Namida replied. "They probably know by now that we're on a date. In fact, Chocho is probably gossiping about us already."

"Yeah I know… But still, I want to buy drinks for them anyway. Knowing them, they'll probably enjoy it."

"They'll enjoy alcohol for sure. But remember, I can't get drunk, okay? My parents don't think drinking is a good thing at all, and remember that they're very protective of me."

Wasabi sighed. "Ugh, conservative parents are an absolute pain in the ass", she thought out loud, to which Namida laughed.

"Especially if their daughter is in a relationship with another girl", Namida added.

Wasabi chuckled loudly with that response. "It's best that they never know," she winked.

Namida continued venting to Wasabi, "At least your parents are liberal enough to accept us being together in a relationship. I wish I had parents like yours."

"Yeah, my parents are like the definition of 'chill'," Wasabi beamed proudly. "They just want me to be happy, and if I am happy, then they are too. All parents should be like that, in my opinion."

Namida agreed whole-heartedly, and they held hands firmly as they got to the marketplace. People were staring at them as they walked on the sidewalk. A lot were looks of happiness, cuteness, and acceptance, while some others looked at them with disapproval and downright disgust. Namida sighed. _Konoha may be modernizing and all, but there are still a lot of people who cling on to their conservative, outright discriminatory beliefs of others. Well, at least there's progress,_ she thought optimistically.

Wasabi knew where to look for the alcohol in the somewhat shady part of the marketplace, and she bought the good quality ones with what money she and Namida had left on them after their date. After they bought the alcohol, Namida got her cellphone out and called Sumire.

"Hey Sumire!"

_ "Namida!"_ Sumire replied, with the background noise amplified in such a way that Namida knew immediately that they were on loudspeaker._ "You and Wasabi are on your way here now? It's 8:45 already."_

"Yeah, we're on our way to Thunder Burger right now. We'll be there in about 10 minutes, I think. Wasabi also bought drinks for you guys!"

"Lots of bottles of Pale Pilsen and Vodka," Wasabi added.

_"You guys bought drinks for us?"_ There are loud cheers in the background, so obviously they're excited for the drinks, Namida says internally. _"Thanks Wasabi!" shouted voices in the background, the main one clearly being Iwabe. _

Namida smiled. "No problem guys, see you in a few minutes!"

*******XXXXXXX*******

In the darkness outside the village, out of sight from the guards posted on the walls, nine shadowy figures converged. One of them spoke up to the others.

"I expect that you are all ready for this. To cause chaos, havoc, destruction, ruin, suffering, and death upon Konoha and all of the Ninja Nations. Our crowning achievement is now at hand: The end of the shinobi world as we know it."

"Jigen," one of the men beside him replied, "we all know what we have to do. There's no need to remind us. It's up to our person inside Konoha now. Once he gives us the signal, our assault begins."

Jigen smiled. "Ahh Koji, always blunt and direct to the point. Very well then, all of you, please move to your assigned positions. Be on point. We communicate by our encrypted earpieces so no one can intercept and understand our conversations, understand?"

"Yes." At that, everyone dispersed. Their positions surrounded Konoha's walls on all sides, but with the protective and sensing barriers still up and running, they had to wait for their moment to strike.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Back at Naruto's office, Shikamaru was on his cellphone, talking to Temari. He was telling her to stay at home and lock all the doors. Meanwhile, Sai was talking to Ino on video call, saying she should close up her flower shop for the night and take shelter in their home. Both of them told their wives about the suspicious Kara-related threat, and were taking no chances. Naruto was calling his house on the landline phone, and after a few seconds, Hinata picked up.

_"Hello dear. Are you coming home early?"_

"Hinata! I can't go home right now. There's a threat right now that we're investigating, and it has the potential to be serious. We're all waiting for Sasuke for help. Whatever you do, lock the doors and keep yourself, Boruto and Himawari safe, alright?"

_"Honey, I can't do that. Boruto and Himawari are at the burger restaurant with all their friends. They won't be back until past 11:30. In any case, I'm sure they can manage themselves too. You know how strong they all are, and they're even stronger with all of them supporting each other."_

Naruto smiled. "You're right. I have faith in them. But this is related to Kara, you know? I'm just concerned that this threat is real. So just in case, once they come home, stay there and be alert."

_ "Yes dear, we will. You stay safe there too! And keep doing your best! I know you got this! I love you!"_

"I love you too, Hinata! Good night."

A minute after Naruto dropped the call, a black, spiraling portal opened up in the middle of the room. Sasuke stepped through, looking a bit fatigued after spending a lot of chakra to activate his time-space ninjutsu.

"I got here as fast as I could after receiving Sai's messenger bird. What's the situation?"

Shikamaru and Sai ended their calls quickly, and set another table in the middle, with a map of Konoha showing the walls, defensive positions, and choke points, along with some identified weak sides and highlighted blind spots. "This map is for an assault of the town. It's been updated with the new constructions, excavations, and tunnels built after the Momoshiki Attacks," Shikamaru explained. "But this is only for an external assault."

Naruto continued the explanation, "We have reason to believe that Kara has an insider within Konoha, one who is actively committing a plot to cause unrest in our village."

"I heard you intercepted messages between the Kara members?"

"Yes we did. Sai, how's the work on translation?"

"You mean deciphering it?" Sai clarified, looking at the translated and non-translated parts of the missives on his computer. "Well, we've only partially decoded them. Only a third of the symbols used have had their true meanings confirmed and identified."

Sasuke peeked at the computer and saw the glyph-looking letters. The three letters were side by side, and the symbols with identified meanings were listed down on another tab. Sasuke recognized some of the symbols. He was trying to remember where he had seen them before, when he realized he had gotten a field manual of a Kara member he killed weeks ago, after he discovered one of their minor camps. He pulled the small book out from his backpack and opened it with his one hand. On the page were typed the symbols he saw on the computer.

"The field manual I got from one of their members has the same code used," Sasuke informed the room as he handed the book to Sai and the others. "Let's see if this helps with the decoding."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Wasabi and Namida arrived at Thunder Burger just before nine o'clock, and after they sat down, they endured some minutes of playful teasing from the others, which Namida laughed off, while Wasabi quickly got annoyed. They joined in the fun conversations, and also brought out the drinks. The restaurant, knowing the members of the group well enough to trust them not to break everything in sight, gave them some plastic cups, and those were quickly filled with the beer Wasabi bought. They were drained just as fast.

"Maaan… this is great stuff", Chocho muttered with some difficulty after having three glasses.

Amused at his teammate's reaction, Inojin replied, "Wow, I didn't expect you to be a lightweight, chubs."

On the other extreme, everyone noticed that Mitsuki kept drinking but didn't seem affected at all, which is probably due to how Orochimaru made him. Inojin and Himawari were exchanging jokes, puns, and theories and philosophies about art, while Shikadai and Ryogi were playing a new board game called Game of the Generals, which was rapidly gaining popularity with it being a modern version of chess and shogi, where the pieces could only be moved on square in any of the four principal directions, and the identities of the pieces being moved by the player were unknown to the opponent. Boruto served as their arbiter, to determine which side won each battle that would take place when two pieces from opposing sides met at the same square.

Metal Lee and Iwabe were once again debating on whether Rock Lee or Naruto was the better one in terms of pure taijutsu, with Denki not caring one bit about that conversation. Instead, he was talking to Namida about how groundbreaking Orochimaru's new research into Sound Style was, to which Namida agreed wholeheartedly. Wasabi listened and held Namida's hand from time to time, while also conversing with Sarada and Sumire over their recent missions, some political happenings all over the ninja world, and their parents.

While everyone else was drinking the beer, Sumire stuck with cola. Sarada noticed and asked her, "You're not much of a drinker, are you?"

Sumire shook her head. "I don't really drink at all. Still traumatized from my father, cause he was one massive drinker. And an abusive, angry drunkard at that."

Sarada immediately apologized for not realizing, and Boruto, trying to break the tension, had an idea. "You should try it anyway. We're pretty sure you won't end up like your father. You're a much better person than he'll ever be, I promise you that!"

Sumire thought about it for a second. "Relax Sumire, nothing bad will happen," Sarada assured her.

"We'll be here for you, no matter what happens. Remember what we promised you?" Namida added, while Wasabi got her glass and filled it to the brim with the Pale Pilsen, a lager beer brewed from pale malt.

"Drink it, alright?" Wasabi pushed Sumire's plastic glass towards her. "I swear, this is not that strong, Chocho just gets drunk so easily, so don't use her as a basis for anything."

As everyone except for Chocho laughed, Sumire looked at the cup, and then at her friends, especially towards Boruto, Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida, who all nodded in encouragement. She breathed in and out to calm her nerves, and then put the cup to her mouth, more or less gulping down the whole thing in one go. She was taken aback by the mix of sweetness and bitterness of the beer, but was able to handle it. She sighed with relief, and said, "It was alright, I guess," as the room erupted with whistles and cheers with Sumire's first drink.

"By the way Sumire," Boruto asked, "your birthday is coming up quickly right?"

"Yes Boruto-kun, it's 5 days from now. June 12."

"Ohh, that's wonderful!" Sarada added in delight. "Are you going to have a birthday party?"

"I originally wasn't, to be honest. But lately, I've been thinking about it more, and I guess it would be fun."

"It definitely will!" Wasabi encouraged her further.

"We'll all go," Namida reassured, "if ever you decide to hold the party."

Sumire decided in that instant. "Alright! Everyone, I'm inviting all of you guys over to my place on June 12 for my birthday!" The group cheered as another party and get-together was planned.

"Sumire, how old are you now?"

Sumire turned to Mitsuki, who had asked her the question. "I'm turning 16 in five days, so I guess I'm just a bit older than you guys."

"Ohh so it's your sweet sixteen," Sarada noticed. "I'll be turning 16 next year, March 31."

Sumire smiled. "We should make sure to all be there as well! Anyway, I'll try to enjoy the last 5 days that we'll be the same age for this year… I feel old," she joked, as everyone laughed.

"Namida," Mitsuki pointed out after more drinking, "how about you tell us more about your training with my father in our village?"

"Ohh yeah," Boruto remembered the events. "You left Konoha ten months ago, and you were gone for like half a year. You guys came back just before everyone became busy. Why was Team 15 was inactive during that time. What happened then?"

Namida downed what remained of her cup first before telling her story to the group. "The four of us: myself, Wasabi, Sumire, and Hanabi-sensei… We all agreed to go train more to hone our skills, improve our weaknesses, and accentuate our strengths. Sumire had her job with the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team, where she had her short internship three years ago as well, to put her researching and technical skills to good use, as well as to improve them. Wasabi was supposed to train under Kiba for animal transformation, while Hanabi-sensei…" Namida paused and chuckled. "Well, I guess she spent much more time with Konohamaru-sensei, if you know what I mean."

Boruto laughed maliciously. "So that's why they were hanging out a lot more often. I now have blackmail material over him."

This comment earned a reprimand from Sarada. "You will do no such thing," she told him as she stared at him sternly.

"You forgot to mention, Namida, that I ended my training with Kiba-sensei very early," Wasabi noted, "since he wasn't really interested or skilled in cat transformations. Like, I walked out by the third day."

"I said that you were supposed to," Namida reasoned.

"Ohh really?" Sarada asked as her interest was piqued. "Is that why you studied under my mom and Aunt Ino instead?"

Wasabi nodded. "In place of cat-transformation training, I wanted to study more medical ninjutsu under Tsunade, but I only ever got to learn for her for like five of our daily sessions. I think she had some health issues and personal issues, not to mention that she's pretty old and mostly grumpy nowadays. The majority of those six months, I learned under Sakura-sensei and Ino-sensei, who were both very kind and patient with me."

"You had dinner at my house a lot back then," Sarada added, "and even until now, you come along every so often. My mom often says that she's very proud and happy to have a student like you. She told me that you always listen to her attentively, and that you learn very fast."

"I just hope that I could be even half as good as her," Wasabi admitted. "She is a wonderful teacher, and I hope that I don't disappoint her… Also, the food in your house is always nice."

"Wasabi, you're welcome to come over more," Sarada told her. "I'm sure you, me, Mom, and Aunt Ino, always have a lot of things to talk about."

Mitsuki carried the discussion with Namida along, as Wasabi and Sarada exchanged fist bumps. "Why did you choose to train in my village?"

Namida looked back at him, smiling as she fondly remembered her stay in Oto. "Well, if you guys remember, my strong suit jutsu-wise is Sound Style, which pretty much nobody in Konoha uses or even knows how to use. Ten months ago, I heard from Mitsuki, Denki, and Sumire, that Mitsuki's father, the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru, was doing heavy research into the more obscure types and styles and jutsus. At the time, according to Mitsuki, Orochimaru had just made a huge breakthrough regarding Sound Style."

"I read his dissertation about discovering sound style," Denki added. "The so-called '_Seventh Fonon'_. It was very nicely written, so it was great read. Apparently, the reason why it took so long for anybody to figure out what truly makes sound style possible is because of wrong ideas as to its correct composition, or not having the ability to combine if ever they had the right basic elements. Orochimaru himself focused first on trying to combine wind and fire, though he naturally ended up with the very rare Scorch Style. He realized that heat isn't the source of vibrating sound waves, but rather only an effect."

He continued, "It was then he asked himself, 'what creates sound?' It turned out that sound itself isn't made of other elements at all. He discovered that sound waves exist in all types of matter: Solids, Liquids, Gases, even Plasma. Therefore, it either has to be made up of all the other elements, or it could be that it is in fact it's own element, or fonon, the scientific term for the elements. The former was quickly proven wrong, given that there are sound users not possessing all the six other main charka natures, and because even people like Lord Hokage who can wield all six main chakra natures have a hard time with sound style. So he did even more research and experiments, and finally proved experimentally that sound style is its own field."

Namida continued her story, "When he found out that sound itself was a separate nature and that it could permeate and transcend other natures as mediums, he finally made consistent sound waves. And when I heard that he had both developed new sound jutsus and rediscovered ancient ones, I immediately told Lord Hokage that I wanted to volunteer to be his assistant. I wanted to learn with the best available, and Lord Hokage agreed."

"The only one available," Wasabi chuckled, then added, "It was a great thing that nobody told your parents what Orochimaru used to do with people who volunteered for him. If anyone did, there's no way your parents would have let you go."

Namida groaned loudly, before throwing her arms up laughing. "They almost didn't let me go anyway!" Everyone laughed along, having seen how protective Namida's parents can be. They nearly forced Namida to quit being a kunoichi on more than one occasion, either after seeing how much she exerted herself, or seeing her get hurt on missions. However, her friends always swayed her to keep on, and for that, most of them earned the ire of her parents, especially Wasabi who actually had a shouting match with Namida's father once.

"Exactly how much did you learn from my father?" Mitsuki probed Namida further.

"I learned a whole lot more sound style attacks," Namida told the group, "and I learned how to better control and modify the ranges and angles of the jutsus I already knew. While he developed most of the new jutsus I know, there are some that we co-developed, and a handful that I made myself during my break times."

"By the way," Sarada asked Namida, "what were you talking about when you said you two rediscovered old sound style jutsus?"

"In fact, we've been investigating an ancient scroll with seven verses of sound style hymns on it. Apparently, the _'fonic hymns'_ are attacks that have to be sung, in the ancient language no less! Additionally, you have to know the true meaning of each individual verse in your in mind and in your heart for it to take effect. I haven't even memorized all the verses yet, only the tune. But I'll keep working on it, so I can show you all how it works."

"Wow! I'd like to see to see those," Sarada remarked. "It's not often you see a style this rare and groundbreaking."

"I'd be happy to spar if you'd like," Namida offered, "though I suspect that you just want to be able to copy the jutsu and learn it with your Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Well," Sarada admitted sheepishly, "I won't deny that."

"That is a no then," Namida laughed, "at least for now. In the meantime, I'm still trying to master making sound waves and vibrations, as well as varying the strength, frequency, pitch, and angular radiation of my sound waves. So it's like an imperfect art as of this moment."

"But even now," Sumire pointed out, "you're doing very well. Wasabi, Hanabi-sensei, and I have all seen your new techniques in our missions, and we were all so impressed. You obviously have a lot of skill and experience already with your sound style, or at least the basics of them."

Sarada grew more excited. "Oh come on! Now I really want to see her sound style!"

* * *

_**I hope you guys enjoyed the very first chapter of this long and (hopefully?) epic book! This is going to be a LOOOOOOOOONG series! Feel free to comment your opinions down below ^_^**_

_**PS: This story is about to get a lot darker and more violent real soon... =O**_


	2. Reunion

_**Hello again everyone! Surprised that I'm back so soon? Loljoke, I hope you guys enjoy this! Chapter 2, here we go! ^_^**_

* * *

**Chapter 2: Reunion**

It was now around 10:30, and while many in the group were more than just tipsy, Chocho was pretty much wasted at this point, with her head down on the table and the occasional incoherent mumbles about being hungry. Himawari was leaning her head on Inojin's shoulder, and Inojin was stroking her hair. Boruto, after staring at them for half a minute, finally registered what was going on, and told Inojin, "Get your hands off my sister, Inojin. Or else."

"Or else what?" The blonde and pale ninja replied. "You really don't have to worry, Boruto… I always take really good care of your sister…"

"That sounded so wrong in so many ways, Inojin," Ryogi pointed out innocently, and Shikadai burst into laughter. He could tell that comment would trigger Boruto, who isn't exactly known for his patience and anger-management.

Mitsuki, perplexed and not yet well-versed enough with these types of things, asked with a curious smile, "What was so wrong about that?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Boruto furiously asked, after taking a long fifteen seconds to digest what he thought Inojin meant, and his loud shout shocked everyone into silence.

"Are you deaf?" Inojin smirked as he looked at Boruto. "You heard what I said."

Himawari added, "Oni-chan, we're not really doing anything wrong. Chill out please?"

Boruto, tipsy, disoriented, and slow as he was, stood up to confront Inojin. Sarada tried to stop him but was grabbed by Mitsuki's extended arm, which wrapped around her. "Don't interfere. Let them sort it out."

Boruto was halfway towards Inojin when Sumire stood up. "Boruto-kun, Inojin, please stop fighting! Boruto-kun, Inojin and Himawari aren't doing anything wrong, so please calm down."

Boruto looked at her with fury for all of one second, before his fury died down and was replaced by embarrassment and guilt. "Sorry you two. I'm just looking out for you, Hima! Inojin, you better take good care of my sister. And not in the creepy way, you know?"

"I promise, sincerely, I will. Trust me."

"I just remembered," Denki joined in, "Sumire also intervened in Boruto and Inojin's fight back in the Academy."

"Ohh yeah, back when she was still class rep!" Namida recalled.

Wasabi added, "It feels like dejavu, seeing her intervene between Boruto and Inojin again."

Everyone was having fun reminiscing the fun times in the Academy. A lot of fun memories of that time were brought up, ranging from Metal Lee's nervousness, Sumire's attack and return to the school, Sarada's speech to Wasabi and Namida that prevented Namida from quitting her dream of being a kunoichi, Mitsuki in general, all of Boruto's antics, and the graduation exam with Kakashi as their proctor. Boruto, as tipsy as he was, gazed at the faces around the table, and looked back at just how much everyone had changed since their days in the Academy, and how much he himself had changed.

Boruto remembered the way he was years before, when he was still a stubborn and spoiled brat who only wanted everything in life to be easy. He was only able to mature into the man he was now, with the help of his parents, Himawari, Sarada, Mitsuki, Sumire, Shikadai, Kawaki, and all of his friends. Still, Boruto wondered about just how much he had truly progressed, and where he would be without his family and friends guiding him.

After a while, his thoughts then turned to his family. On one hand, Naruto had been incredibly busy, tired, and almost burnt out over the responsibilities he's had to handle on a daily basis as the Hokage. But even though it compounded his stress and added to his troubles, he chose to add even more issues to his workload, such as attempting to stem the growing threats of Kara and other extremist groups, and protecting the identities of Mitsuki and Sumire from the knowledge of the general public of Konoha. Boruto understood perfectly why his father was doing the latter, especially after what had happened to Kawaki six months ago, when his identity and former ties to Kara were leaked to Konoha. Still, Boruto wished that his dad could learn someday that he can take life easy too, and that he would take some time off from his job so he can enjoy normal life with his family. "_He deserves it,_" Boruto told himself, "_and so do Mom, Himawari, and I."_

On the other hand, Hinata was living the life of a household mom, raising two growing teenagers in her house, and supplying another one in Kawaki, who had moved out of the house to an apartment close by after his identity leak. Still, she did not feel much stress, which was accentuated by her dark purple hair, fair skin, pretty face, and calm and clingy demeanor, which Naruto was still so in love with. There was not a single gray hair on her head yet. In short, she was still the sweet, caring, loving Mom that Boruto knew and loved back dearly.

_"__Speaking of Kawaki,"_ Boruto worried internally, _"I wonder how he's doing on his own…"_ His mind flashed back to that day six months ago. He relived the moment when he and Kawaki walked out the front door to go to train with Teams 7, 5, 10, and 15, in the virtual coliseum that Denki had just made. The moment the two brothers-in-arms stepped out, they were ambushed by a livid mob that had camped outside the house. The crowd hurled both death threats and cursing insults towards Kawaki and his heritage, not to mention stones and bricks that broke the windows and scraped the walls. Luckily, Hinata and Naruto rushed out in time to dispel the mob, but the damage had already been done. The village elders, who only wanted less chaos inside the village, forced Naruto's hand and made Kawaki move out to live his own, ostensibly to preserve the peace, protect the Hokage and his family, and prevent any more brazen attacks on the home of the Hokage himself.

In any case, Kawaki was given his own apartment unit five streets away. Initially, Boruto, along with his sister and both of his parents, would visit and check up on Kawaki every week. But as time passed, the visits to his apartment became sparse, especially three months ago when the weight of their workload dramatically shot upwards. As missions and inquiries began to pile up one after the other, it became Kawaki who would visit the Uzumaki house once a week. _"He seems to be doing fine on his own two feet,"_ Boruto concluded. _"Still, I should probably visit him at his apartment soon… We should have gotten together today, but when we invited him to come along, he said he wasn't available tonight…"_

Shaking his head and pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Boruto now looked at the people around him on the table, and his focus drifted to Himawari and Inojin, who were sitting beside each other across the table from Boruto. The two artists have recently begun to rent their own art studio now, roughly six blocks away from both the Uzumaki house and the Yamanaka house. Inojin stays in the studio during his spare time away from his missions, while Himawari uses it for around two to three hours everyday after her school dismissal at 3:30 pm. Even though the two of them are both very capable artists in their own rights, they paint with contrasting styles. Formerly of the style of realism, Inojin was now an impressionist who cared less for how accurate his paintings were. He focused his efforts on the semblances of movement and the effects of sunlight on the fleeting scenes in his works. On the other hand, Himawari was an expressionist, although she would also dabble in cubism as well from time to time. Her one and only concern was how much her paintings evoked emotions and moods in those who saw her artworks.

Art aside, the two were growing up to be skilled ninja as well. Inojin had all but mastered the Super Beast Drawing jutsu, while also having a limited capacity to pull off the mind reading and mind transfer jutsus of his mother's clan. And Himawari was still in the process of learning how to use her Byakugan and the jutsus associated with it, such as the Twin Lion Fists and the 8 Trigrams 64 Palms that Hinata and the rest of the Hyuga clan were famous for.

Boruto's eyes wandered next to the raven-haired kunoichi who sat in next to him and Mitsuki. Sarada was currently in a conversation with the other girls, minus Chocho, who was in the process of passing out in front of everyone. In Boruto's eyes, she had grown to be more responsible, passionate, and capable of leadership, not to mention the obvious fact that she had also become more attractive. Aside from their missions together, Sarada had also been studying and training further under Naruto, as preparation for Sarada to become a Hokage in the future. Her goal of becoming the future Hokage had piqued her interest in preserving the traditions, customs, and the status quo of Konoha and the Land of Fire. Sarada had also become much more powerful, and has more control over her chakra and her two Sharingan eyes, although she still lacks chakra for the longer and endurance-based battles.

While Sarada trained and studied with Boruto's father, Naruto, along with his close advisor Shikamaru, Boruto kept training with Sarada's dad, and his master, Sasuke. Sasuke promised Boruto that he would eventually bring him on a long trip around the continent, and maybe even across the oceans to the other continents, to open his eyes to the world around him, and show him the social realities that he can help make better in the future. Boruto grinned as he also remembered his master promising to teach him more jutsus, sword mechanics, and sword fighting techniques along the way. _"I can't wait for our trip… It's going to be so much fun, I'm sure of it!"_

Beside Sarada sat Mitsuki, who was keenly observing the reunion going on around him. "_Mitsuki still has a lot to learn," _Boruto told himself while chuckling slightly, "_when it comes to comprehending what it truly means to become more human. But credit to him, he's getting there, slowly but surely."_ Boruto knew that his pale friend now understood that sometimes, there is more to what is said and done than initially meets the ear and eye. This development amazed his father and creator, Orochimaru, as well as his brother Log, both of whom secretly come over and visit Mitsuki's apartment from time to time to check up on him.

As Boruto downed his glass of beer and refilled it, his blue eyes made contact with Sumire's own purple orbs, which were focused directly and intensely on him. After a few seconds of seemingly losing herself in her deep thoughts, Sumire noticed that Boruto was actually looking at her as well. Blushing slightly, Sumire then looked away from Boruto and quickly pretended that she was part of the ongoing conversation with Wasabi and Namida, who were sitting beside her, and with Denki, Iwabe, Metal, who were on the other side of the table. Since his memory had been refreshed when Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida all talked about it just an hour ago, Boruto remembered the time when Team 15 was inactive for a few months, as the three kunoichi had gone to train with senseis or companies of their own choice to further improve their skills. Sumire had chosen to work with Katasuke as a scientist and researcher to uncover the lost secrets her father had known and kept from her about her, Nue, their links, and their combined powers and abilities. During that period, she kept living in her apartment in Konoha, and she commuted to Ryutan by the Lightning Rail of Kaminarimon Company, a 45-minute long trip one way. She would work in Katasuke's lab from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm, and then return to Konoha by the same rail at the end of the day. Boruto recalled that Sumire had joined Katasuke's company on a rather high-paying rookie scientist contract, which lasted six months, and which also gave her three off-days a week. Katasuke was kind to her, as she had also worked at before on her internship, and was one of his premier assistant scientists during her time there. It was during that internship of hers almost three years ago when Team 7 bumped into her at Katasuke's Company Headquarters in Ryutan, while on their mission to investigate a crashed blimp, the very same mission where they ended up meeting Kawaki and taking him in.

Meanwhile, Denki had resumed the conversation with Namida, Sumire, and Mitsuki regarding Orochimaru's breakthroughs on the Seventh Fonon, Sound, and the resulting Sound Style. Listening in on their conversation were Wasabi, Iwabe, Inojin, and Himawari. Boruto himself was not particularly well-versed with the topics Denki was explaining to the others, but he somewhat understood it due to Denki being so effortlessly able to explain it well and simplify it, without letting the key concepts lost in the simplification. It is because of this ability that Boruto felt sure that Denki would make a great professor in Konoha Academy, whether it be in the advanced mathematics courses like Calculus, or the sciences like Chemistry, Physics, and Technology. However, when he asked Denki about it, the scion of the Kaminarimon Corporate Empire shrugged it off, since he was determined to become a shinobi just like Boruto. Funnily enough, Denki also pointed out that Iwabe could also be a professor for both Structural Engineering courses and Cuisine subjects, two subjects that did not exactly have much in common, if anything at all.

Sandwiched between Team 5, Team 15, and Inojin and Himawari, Chocho sat gazing in the distance in a drunken and dazed stupor, as if she had a thousand mile stare. It was looking more and more likely that she was going to pass out or fall asleep on the table again, just like she was before the one-sided shouting match between Boruto and Inojin began. To Boruto, she was still her confident, all-devouring self, although nowadays she preferred her natural chubby physique, and she did not even bother to look thin anymore due to her self-confidence. She was still the best of friends with Sarada and Sumire, and had gotten closer with Wasabi and Namida as well, so much so that whenever they would go out on a date, Chocho would always volunteer herself, Sarada, and Sumire to come along. Wasabi and Namida would never mind anyway, as it was much more convincing to Namida's ultraconservative parents to let their daughter go on a girl's night out with her closest friends rather than a secret date.

As Boruto's eyes came full circle around the table, he caught sight of Shikadai sitting beside Ryogi and Himawari. Lately, his best friend has been buying and playing more video games, and Boruto and Denki, and sometimes Mitsuki, would come over at least once a week to play with him on the console Temari had bought for him on his last birthday. Aside from their favorite role-playing video games, Shikadai would regularly bring out his strategic board games, the old-timey Shogi and the modern-day favorite Game of the Generals, so that he, Boruto, Denki, and Ryogi would take turns playing, and with the latter game, arbitrating or refereeing. It is through those games that both Shikadai and Ryogi have begun to become more competent military thinkers, like Shikamaru and the other members of the Nara clan, even from generations past. He had also recently begun dueling with his father and with Ryogi in simulated war games, which had been developed by the Kaminarimon Company, although he would most often come out on the losing end against his father and Ryogi, who at this point was pretty much his adopted brother. Sometimes, Yodo would come over, hang out with the three boys, and join in the games from time to time. Boruto already knew that Shikadai was in a budding relationship with Yodo, but to what extent that relationship already was at, he did not know for sure.

All of a sudden, a mischievous idea formed inside Boruto's head.

"Sarada," Boruto whispered silently in her ear, "can you put Shikadai under genjutsu?"

Sarada balked at the suggestion. "And why would I do that?"

"I have an idea. Don't worry, he won't get hurt or anything."

"Just tell me what it's going to be about."

"I'm going to ask Ryogi some… personal questions about Shikadai and, well, you know who?"

Sarada filled in the remaining information on her own. She thought about it and smiled. She wasn't exactly used to mischief, but as she told herself in her head, _to hell with it; we should enjoy our teenage years while we still can._ "Fine," she replied to Boruto. "I'll do it."

"Shikadai," Sarada called his attention. As he looked at her, she activated her Mangekyo Sharingan and put him under genjutsu.

"Sarada-chan!" Sumire reacted. "What are you doing?"

"Ask Boruto," Sarada replied. "Or just look at what he'll do."

"Ryogi," Boruto turned to him with a huge smile on his face, "do you and Shikadai still sleep in the same room?"

Ryogi tilted his head, confused. "No, we don't. I moved into my own room months ago. Don't you remember? You went inside and said it was so cold, you almost froze?"

Boruto smiled. Ryogi was walking into his trap. "Ohh yeah, now I remember. It's right beside Shikadai's room, right?"

"Yup!"

"Alright, moving on from that, how are Shikadai and Yodo?"

Ryogi looked around. Everyone was now looking at him, listening intently. Well, everyone except Shikadai, who looked like he was hugging himself.

"Alright I'll tell you," Ryogi told them, as he sighed and gave up. "The two of them are…" Ryogi struggled to put it into words, "sort of together, I guess? They're not boyfriend and girlfriend just yet, but they should probably be soon." Everyone giggled and quietly cheered, as Boruto continued the interrogation of sorts.

"And Yodo goes to your house often, right?"

"You could say that. I mean, she comes every weekend, while the Fifth Kazekage, who's Shikadai's Uncle Gaara, as well as Uncle Kankuro, come visit every two months or so."

"Where does Yodo stay when she's there?"

Ryogi began to laugh. He knew it would come to this. He mentally apologized to Shikadai, and he made a mental note to just make the excuse later on that he was threatened and pressured by everyone into doing so.

"Yodo stays in Shikadai's room all the time. At least, whenever Temari isn't there. Shikamaru knows about the two of them, but he lets them deal with their own things."

"What about you? What's your opinion of them?"

"Honestly, I think the two of them are very cute together. Lots of chemistry, and to me, it's obvious they're falling deeper and deeper in love for each other."

"Awww…" everyone reacted as they looked to move closer to him.

Boruto's smirk grew wider, and he unleashed his trump card. "Do you happen to hear anything from their room while the two of them are there?"

"Hawawawa… Boruto-kun!" Sumire objected animatedly, "You don't need to ask that!"

"Let him answer the question, Sumire," Mitsuki told her. Sumire looked at him aghast. Remembering that Mitsuki knew absolutely no social norms, and realizing that it was a lost cause, she sighed and decided to listen in as well.

Ryogi laughed a little, and then decided to drop some hints and breadcrumbs instead of saying it outright. That way, his friends could let their imaginations run even wilder than if he simply told them what he knew. "Yes, I heard them say each other's names a lot in a lewd way, and there are a lot of thuds and loud moans."

At that, Namida and Wasabi giggled and heavily blushed, and everyone else squealed out in loud guffaws as they looked at Shikadai. Everyone now noticed Shikadai was hugging himself and moaning Yodo's name softly and tenderly.

"Umm… Sarada," Sumire asked her with curiosity, "What exactly did you do to Shikadai?"

Sarada smiled as she pushed two of her fingers to adjust her glasses. "I put him under a genjutsu which showed him and let him interact with whatever he desires and loves most."

Shikadai pulled his head back and put his hand into his pants. Everyone around him, including Chocho, Inojin, and Himawari, gasped and moved away immediately, and Inojin covered Himawari's eyes, though she peeked over anyway.

"That's… great and all…" Sumire told Sarada, "but can you please lift the genjutsu now?"

"Sarada," Boruto added, "you can stop now. We might all get reported for public indecency, you know?"

"If he removes his clothes," Mitsuki replied, "I'll cover him up. It'll be easy for me." The group laughed and groaned as Mitsuki once again failed to display any understanding of social norms. After taking in the scandalous scene for a few more seconds, Sarada lifted her genjutsu on Shikadai.

"Ughhh… my head," Shikadai groaned as he unconsciously removed his hand from his crotch and held his aching head. "What happened? Where's Yodo? And… what smells?"

The entire group looked at him and tried their best not to laugh. They failed, and their cheeks turned red from blushing from the alcohol, the smiling, and the laughing.

"I'm sorry… Shikadai…" Ryogi sputtered within giggles. "They made me tell everything… everything about you and Yodo…"

Shikadai took a moment to think, and then realized what everyone had been laughing about. "Fuck you guys! You think this is funny? Sarada, why did you even listen to Boruto?"

"Because even I thought it was a funny prank," Sarada replied as she smirked at him. The two of them glared at each other, the electricity and tension palpable in the air. Boruto looked at his phone to check the time. It was 10:50, just minutes before the end of the get-together.

Sumire stood up once again to intervene and stop a fight from happening. "Shikadai, Sarada, please don't fi-"

Suddenly, Sumire blacked out, collapsed onto her chair, and dropped her paper cup on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Sarada asked her. "Don't tell me you're a lightweight too." But Sumire gave no response. Her eyes were glazed over, not even acknowledging that she heard anything Sarada just asked.

Boruto also got worried and went over to Sumire. He put his hand on her forehead, asking her, "Hey Sumire? What's wrong?"

As people started to worry and gather around her, she stared blankly into space, mouth slightly open, no breathing, and her hand slightly shaking.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Sumire dear, can you hear me?"

Sumire woke up lying face down to a once-familiar sight, one where she used to be all the time. It was a dark place, with some trees, vines, stumps, stony ground, and water flowing on some streams. It was the Nue's dimension, or so it seemed like it. And standing on top of a great stump stood Nue, who was as big as he was the last time she was in this place, back when Boruto, and to a degree Mitsuki, saved her from the suicide mission her father ordered her to fulfill.

"Nue! I haven't heard your real voice in so long!" Sumire exclaimed as she got onto the stump and gave Nue a long, tight hug. After she pulled away, she looked around, still puzzled. "Why is this place still here? I thought the dimension collapsed after the Gozu Tennou was broken."

"This isn't the same. That physical dimension indeed crumbled and failed; however as our link persevered and lived on, due to the love and care you showed me over the years and even until now. As the link between us survived, this place, which we called our home years ago, where you would hide from the memories of your father, where you took care of me and kept me in safely also lives on, inside you. In fact, I can reform my dimension, but I only will if you command me to, and I guarantee you that it won't need the Gozu Tennou or any dark chakra this time."

Sumire was torn. She was still very much traumatized by her childhood, by her father's physical, emotional, and mental abuse, by him indoctrinating her into hating Konoha and all its citizens, into become a child soldier, and becoming a child suicide bomber at that. What father would put their children through such things?

On the other hand, this place did hold memories for her, both good and bad ones. The bad ones mainly consisted of the times she drained people of their chakra and left them nearly dead. The good ones, on the other hand, were those of her taking care of Nue, feeding him actual food from her dimension, giving it baths with some of her water style jutsus, making a makeshift shelter to give her a place to sleep sometimes, and of course, her battles against Boruto and Mitsuki, where Boruto finally broke her father's influence over her. Until now, she remains very grateful to Boruto for showing her another path to follow, another ninja way to live.

"I've missed this place quite a lot," Sumire said as she sat down at the edge of the stump, with Nue approaching her and lying down. "I never thought I would be able to see it again. So, this is where you stay when I'm summoning you?"

"Yes, Sumire dear. Our link surviving means you could still summon me, and actually use my abilities if you wanted to. But you already know that, don't you? You still summon me quite a lot."

"Yes, and they're very useful. The dark chakra snake, chakra drain, and the huge gas tank of chakra you provide for me both come in handy-"

"Umm," Nue interrupted, "You know I do have more abilities than that right? Yes, the ability to drain chakra, to absorb it from others and from the surroundings, I can also output it to others who need it, amplify your attacks by increasing the amount of chakra used, even use wood style with my Hashirama cells? Do any of those ring a bell?"

Sumire looked at Nue with wide eyes. Even she had no idea Nue could do all those things. Looking back at her father's harsh training, it only involved using her own strengths and abilities, never of Nue's, who was implanted into her on the same day as her father's death. And considering her father never gave her even a manual of Nue's powers, only telling her that Nue is a bomb that needs chakra to blow up Konoha, she wouldn't have known anyway.

"It seems you're not aware about the abilities I grant you. Though I guess it's partly my fault for not really teaching you about them. I'm sorry."

"It's completely fine, Nue. Now that I know more of our abilities, we can practice regularly so that I can gain experience with them. We'll have lots of time to improve and train. We can even bring in Wasabi and Namida to join us, so we can all improve!"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. We don't exactly have time for that right now. Listen carefully to me. At this very moment, Kara is moving to destroy Konoha. I can sense their movement, they're full of negative chakra and ill will towards us."

Sumire stood up, shocked. "What do you mean? How do you know this?" At that, the place started rumbling and shaking violently. Sumire almost fell down the stump but caught onto the ledge and lifted herself back up. The tremor continued for a while before stopping abruptly. "What was that? Was that the attack starting?"

"Not really," Nue replied with laughter. "That was Boruto shaking you. They all seem concerned for you, as you appear to be either dead or asleep with your eyes open. Anyway, I'll make this quick. Keep yourself and your friends safe, and stay away from the marketplace. Help Lord Seventh, Sasuke Uchiha, Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and everyone else as much as you can, and use my powers."

"Why? What's happening? Hawa-WAAAAAAH…" Sumire asked Nue just as Nue activated a portal under Sumire, sending her back to the real world.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Boruto, what are you doing?" Sarada asked, pulling Boruto away from Sumire and checking her for herself. "Sumire, are you ther-"

"AHHH!" Sumire suddenly regained consciousness, and started breathing rapidly and deeply, trying to calm down. It felt like she was falling for a minute.

"Sumire!" Boruto exclaimed, worried sick. "What happened to you?"

Sarada felt her forehead, and checked her pupils. "You didn't happen to have a seizure, did you? Your hand was shaking, you weren't breathing, and you didn't even notice what was happening around you and what were saying to you."

Sumire managed to calm down and was processing everything, not only the information that Nue had given her, but also what's happening around her in the real world.

"Guys, how long… was I like that?" Sumire asked.

Boruto got a glass of water and gave it for her to drink. "About a full minute?"

"What?" Sumire was perplexed. Her meeting with Nue felt like it lasted more than half an hour. She drank the glass of water in one go.

Wasabi rubbed her shoulders and neck, and gave her a hard massage. "We were wondering if you needed CPR," Namida told her, "or a splash of cold water. But looks like you're A-OK. What happened though?"

Wasabi reminded her, "Sumire, if you have seizures, you should take some medicine to prevent it, you know? We don't want you collapsing out of nowhere or anything like that."

"No, I don't have seizures, Wasabi. This wasn't like that. What happened was, Nue and I had a meeting inside my mind or heart, I'm not quite sure yet. In any case, he warned me of something horrible happening."

"What is it? What's going to happen?" Boruto asked, while the group listened intently, except for Mitsuki, who looked to be having a conversation with a snake.

"There's a plot to destroy Konoha. It's happening right now."

The group didn't know what to say. Suddenly, Shikadai broke the silence, laughing a bit nervously. "Sumire, I think you're even more drunk than Chocho here. Even if there was a plot to attack Konoha, the Hokage and our parents would be able to handle it."

Sumire looked down. Did she dream it all up? To be perfectly honest, she herself wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or if it really did happen. But then, Boruto groaned in pain and covered his scarred right eye, and everyone's attention was on him this time. Sarada looked concerned and guided Boruto down on a chair, while Sumire got his hand off his eye to take a look.

"Boruto!" Sumire informed him, "It's your special eye! The one that can sense negative chakra!"

Sure enough, Boruto's Jougan had activated, and Boruto could sense negative chakra, though he couldn't pinpoint it nor see well anyway due to his tipsy condition. But what he could determine was that there were indeed people with negative chakra around.

"She's right! There are people with dark chakra and evil intentions around. I can sense them, but I can't pinpoint where they are… I think I'm too drunk for that…"

After his conversation with the messenger snake, Mitsuki all but confirmed what Sumire said. "My father just spoke to me. There is indeed a plot by Kara to devastate Konoha and destroy its people. He will relay this information to Lord Seventh and Sasuke Uchiha, who is with him right now."

"Dad!" exclaimed Sarada, who was growing anxious with all the developments. "I hope they resolve the situation before it gets out of hand."

Sumire thought about what she could do, then she remembered she used to message Naruto from when she was spying on Katasuke for him, back when she was an intern assistant in the Advanced Technology Research Institute in Ryutan. "I'll also send Lord Seventh what we know."

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Looking at the manual," Shikamaru analyzed, "the messages, and how it's used each time, I'm thinking this symbol has something to do with 'ambition' or 'goal in life'. What do you guys think?"

Sasuke took a look at the symbol to see if it made any sense. "It seems to make more sense if it was "ninja way".

Sai thought about it, and concurred. "It's ninja way. It makes more sense, and it fits better with the meanings of the other symbols used in conjunction with it."

"Yes," Shikamaru said, "And so this symbol must be 'end'. 'End the Ninja Way' is their main objective, if what Sasuke read and decoded from the field manual is correct."

Sai entered the meaning into the other tab then pushed away from the computer. "Let's take a two-minute break. My head's spinning."

"Agreed," Shikamaru replied. "We've been at this for hours, and I'm having a headache because of it. It's such a drag, having to decode these."

"Naruto," Sasuke told him while taking a quick breather, "We're almost done decoding the three messages and the field manual. There are only six symbols unidentified, though the overall message still remains unclear."

"Good work you guys! Keep it up." Naruto encouraged them. "I'm monitoring the ground situation, and coordinating with the current patrols to see if they or anyone spot anything suspicious."

"Guys, let's get back to work," Sai tells them as Shikamaru and Sasuke get back from their short water and mental break. "These two symbols are used in another letter. It's used in conjunction with the nine tailed beasts, as well as, quote-unquote, _'the new variable tailed beast, linked to lavender'_, as they say here."

"Wait, what?" A confused Shikamaru interrupted. "There's a variable tailed beast? So a tailed beast that can have as many tails as it wants? And what does it mean when it says the beast is connected to lavender?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto and Sai, and replied, "I do believe we know who this belongs to."

Sai thought about it for a second before realizing what they referred to. "Ohh I get it. It's not exactly lavender, but it's more of violet… Sumire Kakei and Nue. So this symbol is for 'beasts', and this one means… how about 'unleash'? So used together, it means 'unleash the beasts'?"

"Well," Sasuke concurred, "that could be one of their goals. It's one they could have inherited from the Akatsuki."

Sai noted the deduced meanings in the other tab, and then he updated the decoded messages. There were only three symbols left to decipher.

"Alright," Naruto said. "Three more symbols, all of which are used in this last sentence."

Sai reads the partly deciphered sentence. "Set the 'blank' to trigger 'blank' at the very 'blank', and at once our mission begins."

"Hmm… Can I see that second symbol again?" Sasuke wondered where he had seen that symbol before. He looked back at the very first intercepted missive. Using his Mangekyo Sharingan to easily look for the symbol, he found where it was used. The message read, "Your idol said, 'Art is an Blast'. Do us, and him, proud." Sasuke's eyes grew wide.

"The second symbol is explosion or blast," Sasuke quickly let the others know. "It's a quote from Deidara. 'Art is an Explosion!' I know because I battled him before."

Sai grew worried as he inputted the meaning into the tab. "Two to go, though I already hate where this is going."

Naruto was looking on concerned, when the phone rang. "Hello. Orochimaru? We're kinda preoccupied, what is it-"

Naruto grew silent and kept listening over the phone, as he got a pen and paper, jotting down everything Orochimaru told him. After looking at him for a while, Sai, Shikamaru, and Sasuke all turned back to the computer.

"Am I the only one who thinks the first symbol stands for 'bomb'? Sai nervously gulped while asking.

"Nope," Sasuke replied. "I'm afraid it is.

Shikamaru, trying to make sense of it all, reads it again. "Now, 'set the bomb to trigger explosion at the very… very…'" Shikamaru realizes what the symbol means. "The last symbol has to be 'center'! No other place can be targeted to cause as much damage and casualties as there!"

"Orochimaru… thank you so much. Yes, I'll evacuate it immediately. And yes, I'll keep Mitsuki safe. Goodbye."

Naruto got off the phone and addressed the others. "Everyone, we need to evacuate the marketplace at the center of the city, NOW! That's where Kara is targeting."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, we just finished decoding and ended up with the same conclusion.

Sai stood up, walked over to the public address system, and activated it. "People of Konoha, this is Sai Yamanaka. By order of Lord Seventh, please return home immediately, and please evacuate the marketplace at the center of the city. To those outside it, steer clear and return to your homes as soon as possible too. There is a bomb threat. I repeat: there is a bomb threat."

* * *

_**This chapter was made to mostly help readers catch up to where Boruto, his family, and friends are in their lives now, to provide some comic relief, and to drum up anticipation for the coming fight(s). And the coming fight(s) will be start in the next chapter and will last for a while! Maybe until Chapter 8? Are you guys ready? Because ready or not, it's coming fast.**_

_**As always, I'm welcoming all comers for comments and reviews that can help me become a better writer, and improve this book and this series! Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked this!**_

_**PS: Question (answer in the reviews): Do you think the people will actually listen to the bomb threat? =O**_


	3. Terror

_**I'm back! As I promised, this has turned dark and violent! And it will only become even more violent and gruesome with the next few chapters that pass =O**_

_**Enjoy the chapter! ^_^**_

* * *

**Chapter 3: Terror**

Kawaki looked at the hanging clock in the living room of his dark apartment, which read back a time of 10:40 pm to the teenage shinobi. He looked back at the last two coded messages he had received from Kara. "That should be enough, then." He then sealed the lid on the big barrel bomb in front of him. It was a blue plastic barrel that he had filled to the brim in the prior days with a nauseous, noxious, easily flammable, and highly explosive mixture of ammonium and nitro-methane. Then, he attached a trigger mechanism, a clock-based firebomb, on the side of the blue barrel, and he entered into the countdown timer the time of exactly 12 midnight. This firebomb had more than enough punch to tear through the walls of the plastic barrel, so as to spill and ignite its explosive contents. And in the highly unlikely event that it was not enough to break the barrel, Kawaki had made sure to place the barrel and the triggering firebomb beside the LPG tanks of his kitchen stove. For sure, the LPG tanks would be lit up and exploded, and so this was the failsafe for Kawaki's apartment bomb.

Shortly afterwards, he zipped his bag closed and slung one strap over his shoulder, while making sure that a certain scroll was in his pocket. _"Keep track of time," _Kawaki reminded himself as he closed and locked his front door, before walking down the eight flights of stairs from his apartment to ground level. He then went in the direction of the marketplace, towards the heart of the city of Konoha. As he strolled down the dark street, he pulled out his phone and tapped on his notes. He scanned the targets for bombing that he had listed down over the past days and weeks. For one, destroying his apartment building was, to him, a sign of revenge against what he viewed as an oppressive, outdated, and hateful society. But his apartment would not be the first target attacked. According to the final plan, the marketplace would be bombed first, since this was the agreed-upon signal for Kara to launch their assault on the city.

Aside from the marketplace and his own apartment, he had also planned to bomb the houses of the Konoha elders he hated so much. He wanted to personally confirm their deaths, as they had caused him much pain and misery by forcibly separating him from the kind Uzumaki family that had taken him in. The Kaminarimon Communications Towers, right beside the main Kaminarimon Company skyscraper, was next on his target list. Destroying the comms towers would effectively cut off most communication with the outside world, and that will leave Kara's attack on Konoha unimpeded by outside intervention. The last two targets for bombing and sabotage were the Konoha Academy, specifically the Chemistry Wing that was vulnerable to gas fires and explosions, and the Hokage Mansion itself. For these targets, he placed his remaining bombs, the ones not already in his bag or already activated in his apartment, into a storage scroll. His plan once he reached a target was to first hide in the dark, pull out one or two bombs from the storage scroll, and input an appropriate time on the countdown timers, before placing it at the target.

Kawaki also desired to demolish the Hokage Rock, and the seven stone faces that provided Konoha with inspiration and hope. However, he was not able to make enough bombs in time, so he instead decided then to use his Karma Seal to obliviate the Hokages' rock faces.

The marketplace was still quite filled with a lot of people when Kawaki arrived. It was a Friday after all, so lots of people were eating out and celebrating the end of another work-filled week. He looked at his watch. 10:49. _"Still on track,"_ he thought, as he looked for a good restaurant to settle in. He saw a rather popular one that served okonomiyaki cooked in front of the customers. He thought about it, and went inside.

"Welcome to Doton Bori!" The attendant waitress greeted him as she led him to a vacant table.

As he was settling into his table, he observed his surroundings. There were still a lot of people here around me, and a lot as well in the surrounding areas. He then looked at his menu. "I'll have the Modern Okonomiyaki Mix," he told the waitress. "With extra squid please. Thanks."

"Alright," the waitress told him. "Anything else?"

"Hmm, iced tea would be great as well, and some gyoza dumplings on the side."

"Iced tea and gyoza. Got it."

"Ohh, and where's the bathroom here?"

"The bathroom is at the end of the hallway," the waitress told him, pointing in the general direction.

"Alright, thank you very much," Kawaki said as the waitress made her leave. He looked at his watch again. It had just turned 10:54 pm. He went to the bathroom, clutching his bag. As he went in, he made sure no one else was inside it, before locking his stall. He opened his bag again. He examined once more the large container filled with ammonium, nitro-methane, and an explosive cap connected to a timer; a fiery, explosive, high blast radius bomb, as big as his backpack allowed him to carry. He held the timer in his hands, about the set the countdown.

He thought about what had driven him to this point. He thought he was free from Kara, from the utter abuse they perpetrated on him. He was rescued by Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki, who then brought him back to the Ninja Research Lab for initial treatment from Sumire and Akita, then to Konoha itself for further treatment from Sakura, Ino, and Tsunade. When Naruto, the Lord Hokage himself, brought him under his wing and let him move in with his family, Kawaki thought he had turned over a new leaf, that he would finally be able to start again and live a new life, free from the sadness and pain he had experienced as a child and as a teenager growing up with two different abusive fathers. At least, not as much as he had experienced up to that point. But, it wasn't to be.

Six months ago, he was revealed as a former member of Kara by an anonymous online source. At the time, Kara had already grown enough to be noticed by all the ninja nations and to be feared by their people. Worse, the leak described him as an Inner of Kara, one of the elite, important, high-ranking members of the organization. People actually ambushed him and Boruto outside their shared home, and then started shunning him, throwing rocks at him, straight up assaulting him, and threatening to burn him and the Uzumaki house down. After he was forced by the village elders to move out of the Uzumaki home to his own apartment, the hate and abuse shown towards him only grew worse. He reported those people and those actions against him to the police, but they didn't do much to help. They too were suspicious of him as a former high-ranking Kara member.

While the abuse piled up and got worse and worse and worse, Kara reestablished contact with him three months ago. Specifically, his adoptive father Jigen offered to forgive his defection by ordaining him as a mole within Konoha. Kawaki, having had enough of the hate and discrimination against him, had let his rage, anger, and hatred, build up inside him against Konoha, its people, and towards the ninja who protected those worthless people, and when it came to a boiling point, he accepted Jigen's offer of amnesty in exchange for betraying Konoha. It was two months ago when Kara told him of their plan, and that it needed a diversion inside Konoha itself. In fact, it was Kawaki himself who suggested bombing the crowded city center, as he was out for blood against the people who showed no kindness nor mercy nor compassion towards him. Kara accepted his suggestion, and they left it up to him to research for bomb composition and triggers.

Since he was not very familiar with the specifics of making bombs, Kawaki approached the Seventh Hokage, his other adoptive father, two months ago and asked for a job as a science teacher, using their close relationship and Naruto's empathy to his advantage. More specifically, he requested a job at the Konoha Academy Chemistry Department, ostensibly so that he could begin to stand on his own two feet, and also so that he could begin to show the people of Konoha that he was not the evil threat they thought he was.

Naruto Uzumaki, perhaps the kindest, most loving, and most empathetic person in the history of the entire world, immediately agreed to help. He even pulled a lot of strings within the Academy to get Kawaki his way, and in the end, Naruto was able to give Kawaki a post in the Konoha Academy Chemistry Department as an Assistant Professor and Lab Technician, with a great starting salary as well.

Using his newfound positions as Lab Technician and Professor, Kawaki learned the necessary chemical reactions for combustion and explosions to occur, and he was also able to procure the needed materials; ammonium, nitro-methane, and timer fuses, all separately bought from agricultural stalls, chemical product stores, and clock shops. He did not attract any unwanted attention either, as he explained that these materials were essential for his students' many chemistry experiments at Konoha Academy.

After three months of spying and plotting, he thought with excitement, he would finally have his revenge on his damned city and its horrible, discriminatory, judgmental people. And now here he was, looking at his watch again, this time with the bomb's timer in the palm of his other hand. 10:57 pm. He finally entered the countdown of 7 minutes into the timer, carefully placed it back in the bag, and lastly made sure that all of the wiring and sealing was properly done, before he zipped the bag shut.

_"__No jutsus of any kind_," he reminded himself. "_We're using the power of science to end the ninja after all, so using jutsus of any kind would actually run counter to their goal, at least symbolically." _He walked out of the bathroom, back to his table, just as his server brought him his iced tea and gyoza, and started cooking the okonomiyaki in front of him. He put his bag down on the floor, right below the gas and stove. He calmly drank his iced tea and ate 4 out of 6 pieces of gyoza, all while waiting for the right time to leave. He looked at his watch again. 10:58 pm. He was thinking about leaving or staying another 30 seconds, when out of nowhere, Konoha's public address system screeched to life.

_"__People of Konoha, this is Sai Yamanaka. By order of Lord Seventh, please return home immediately, and please evacuate the marketplace. Steer clear from it. There is a bomb threat. I repeat! There is a bomb threat._

Immediately, some people gasped, then left and rushed outside, while others slowly rose and complied with the evacuation order. Still, many citizens seemed to ignore the evacuation order, either dismissing it outright or delaying to finish their food, drinks, and hangouts. The server sighed and shrugged. "Sorry, we have to go. Come back another time. I'll give you part of your money back as well." The server closed the stove and walked back to the staff's quarters to get his belongings.

As he was alone, Kawaki wondered if he should go ahead and continue the attack. Somehow, the authorities have found out about the bombs, so they must have intercepted some of the communication between him and Kara. It would only be a matter of time before they figure out who the insider of Kara in Konoha was. Because of this, Kawaki decided to go ahead with the plot, and got up from his seat without his bag. He ate another piece of gyoza and finished up his iced tea as he looked at his watch once more. 10:59, so that meant five minutes more, he thought to himself internally. The PA message from Sai was still repeating, as if it was being played on loop. By now, it just finished its second iteration, before starting the third one a few seconds later. His server emerged from the staff room with her own bag and gave him back the money for the cancelled okonomiyaki. Kawaki stood up, grabbed the last piece of gyoza and quickly dipped it into the sauce before eating it, and they left the restaurant.

As they exited, Kawaki saw a thronging mass of people moving out from the marketplace. Still, there are also quite a lot of people not yet evacuating, still finishing their food or not really caring about the announcement, dismissing it as nothing more than a prank or an empty threat. Kawaki started running as he saw that he only had about two minutes left before the timer would ran out.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"How is the evacuation going?" Naruto asked Shikamaru and Sasuke, as Sai continued to operate the PA system.

"Looks like a lot of people are leaving the marketplace area," Sasuke replied as he observed the situation from the balcony.

Shikamaru looked on as well. "Still, a lot of people aren't heeding the warning. They probably think it's either a drill or an empty threat."

"Here goes the fourth time… dammit, I hope they take this seriously," Sai groaned, before repeating the message again and emphasizing that this was not just a drill.

Naruto's personal laptop sounded just before the fifth repetition of the warning was being made. He looked at it; it was a message from Sumire. He remembered her service to him with regards to spying on Katasuke for him, monitoring what he discovered and what he leaked out to Kara, and for making sure he didn't do anything too stupid. He opened the message.

_"__Warning from Nue about plot to attack/destroy Konoha. Avoid city center. Boruto, Sarada, Hima, rest of our group are here at Thunder Burger. Boruto's eye is active. Mitsuki is communicating with Orochimaru. We're ready to assist, hold out, whatever needs to be done."_

"Shikamaru," Naruto informed his most trusted advisor, "our children are safe. Boruto, Shikadai, Sarada, and everyone else, they're still at the Thunder Burger restaurant now. Just got the message from Sumire."

"That's so good to know," Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief. "Their whole group is there right? They're all very strong and skilled in their own ways, and together, they're a very formidable force."

He continued, "Shikadai and Ryogi are two of the best strategists right now. They're very agile and adept, and they work very well together too. Chocho reminds me a lot of Choji, but with Karui's ferocity and confidence added in. Iwabe and Denki also have good chemistry as the brawn and brains duo, and Metal Lee is great when he's not nervous, and he's improved his mental state and confidence over the years."

Sasuke smiled. "Sarada can definitely handle herself, as well as Boruto. I've taught him a lot of my tricks over the past three years, and he learns well, so he can defend himself and the others."

"Mitsuki is great as well," Naruto added. "He's already mastered Sage mode. And his long reach and lightning style can really catch you off guard. And I've taught Sarada a lot of my techniques too, you know? Himawari has really improved so much as well, and her skills with the Byakugan remind me a lot of Neji, so she has so much potential to surpass both her uncle and her mother. And Sumire has her agility, Anbu-level spying and deception skills, her creative water style jutsus, and Nue of course. That alone gives her a big advantage over any opponent."

Sai finished the fifth iteration of the warning, out of breath, and took a break from the PA system. "Are you guys forgetting Inojin and the skills he got from me," he chuckled. "Also, Wasabi and Namida have the best chemistry among any of the pairs or trios in their group. Their styles complement each other's skills and moves so much. In any case, I have a lot of faith in this new generation."

"Same here!" Naruto and Shikamaru agreed, while Sasuke laughed along with their enthusiasm and nodded.

"They'll be fine," Naruto assured everyone. "Let's just focus on handling the situation quickly and properly." He then ordered Shikamaru, "Get the police and bomb squad to the marketplace as soon as possible. I'm sure Kiba and Akamaru would love to have some thrill in their lives. Tell them to cordon off the area, locate the bomb, and defuse it safely."

Shikamaru nodded and hurriedly typed in a message to the Uchiha Police Force to head to the central marketplace and dismantle the bomb.

Sai smiled in reaction to Naruto's words, and thought about Inojin. _"Still, stay safe, Inojin," _he thought as he went back to the PA system.

"_Again,_ _by order of the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, please evacuate the marketplace. There is a bomb-"_

Suddenly, a startling and deafening bang was heard, interrupting Sai, who involuntarily raised both of his arms to face level out of surprise. Then a powerful shockwave rocked the mansion, and the rest of Konoha with it. He stood up, wondering what had happened, when he saw Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke already at balcony. Sai joined them and saw thick black smoke rising from the marketplace, which had a small fiery crater near the middle. The stalls surrounding the crater had also caught fire, and the inferno was spreading quickly. There was a lot of screaming and wailing; many people were on fire, or running for their lives, or were trapped under rubble, or were already dead.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Jigen," Koji asked, "tell me why we didn't bring the Outers with us. Do you really expect to take the city of Konoha with 9 men?"

"10 men," Jigen corrected Koji. "Remember that my son is in there."

"Yes, but even with 10 men, do we even have a chance to take Konoha? If it were against Ame, Tani, or even Kiri, it would definitely be possible. But against Konoha, the strongest of all the nations, why?

"Because Koji, they will be caught off-guard. Once we launch our surprise attack, it will take no time for them to falter and lose their fighting spirit. And once Konoha falls, the other ninja nations will follow. We cut off the head, and the rest of the body dies."

"Yes, but that's assuming we do bring down Konoha, which brings me back to my original question. Why didn't we bring more of the Outers along? And why are the few outers we brought along with us stationed seven kilometers away? They'd sow a lot more chaos and attract a lot more ninja to battle them, leaving us with less opposition to face. It would be a lot easier to bring down Konoha if we had more numbers on our side."

"The reason I did not bring more Outers with us is to directly assault the city is because right now, they're preparing to assault other cities and nations. Simultaneous, dispersed strikes on locations far away from each other will overextend their forces, and prevent the nations from effectively helping each other, if they can provide any help at all. And our Outers stationed seven kilometers away, as you said… They will bombard the city with the new artillery units and shells, on my command."

"So you decided not to focus the attack on Konoha. I see your logic… it will cause friction and distrust within the allies for not being able to support one another. However, I'm just worried that our assault will not be enough to break Konoha."

"Even if we don't manage to fell Konoha tonight," Jigen shrugged, "I promise you that one thing is for sure: We will light the biggest fire that this Land of Fire has ever seen!"

All of a sudden, as if to emphasize Jigen's oath, they heard the rumbling explosion inside Konoha, and afterwards saw a smoke cloud illuminated red and orange by the spreading fire. It was time.

Jigen reassured Koji, "Have faith in me and my plan. Our plans always manage to work out, one way or another." Kashin Koji relented and nodded, shook Jigen's hand, and rushed to his position. Jigen then radioed the other Kara members. "That's the signal. From hereon out, we use our identification numbers. Are you all at your positions?"

"Yes, we're in position," they said one by one, with Koji being the final one to respond. When all of them had let Jigen know they were in position, he breathed deeply and clasped his hands.

"Now our assault begins. Commence the attack. Crack the sky and shake the earth."

*******XXXXXXX*******

The four shinobi stood there at the balcony of the Hokage Residence, staring at the thick black smoke rising from the blazing marketplace, stunned at what was happening. Naruto then quickly went back into the office and called up the fire department, the hospital where Sakura worked at, as well as any remaining on-duty and off-duty ninja, to contain the growing blaze, as well as find and treat the survivors. He then went back outside on the balcony. "I'm going there myself, I need to help as much as I can."

"We'll go with you," Sasuke told him. "Sakura will need all the help she can get-"

As he was talking, multiple explosions were heard all around Konoha, as well as screams cut off and cries for help silenced. Naruto and Sasuke looked around, and saw more fires, dust rising into the air, and the figures of those causing the chaos.

"Damn!" Shikamaru cursed. "Kara is already here!"

"Sasuke," Naruto turned to him, "Are you up for a fight?"

"Of course I am," Sasuke replied with a smirk. "The question is, are you ready?"

"Shikamaru, summon Kakashi and Tsunade before you join us. We'll need their help."

"Already on it," Shikamaru replied to Naruto.

"Sai, send word to Choji, Ino, Shino, Hinata, and everyone else, and tell them to assemble and be ready to defend Konoha, at all costs."

"Will do."

Two new figures appeared beside them on the rooftop beside the balcony. "Lord Hokage," Konohamaru panted, "we came here… as quick as we could…"

Hanabi asked, "Naruto, what happened? And how can we help?"

"Konohamaru, Hanabi," Naruto acknowledged, "you two go to the market and help the survivors. Bring them to the hospital, then protect the hospital and the communication towers nearby."

Konohamaru and Hanabi nodded, but before they could leave, Naruto placed his hand on Konohamaru's shoulder. "If anything bad happens to me and Sasuke… you are the next Hokage, and Sarada should come after you."

Konohamaru looked at Naruto in the eye for a moment, and then nodded his head. "For all our sakes, I hope it doesn't have to come to that." He and Hanabi then quickly ran off towards the marketplace.

"Sasuke and I will go ahead," Naruto addressed Shikamaru and Sai. "Join up with us once you assemble everyone and gather as much of our forces as you can," he finished as he and Sasuke jumped off into the fray.

*******XXXXXXX*******

The sudden explosion broke the silence that had settled in the burger place after Sumire and Mitsuki revealed the plot against Konoha, as well as the public announcement from Inojin's father. Boruto was still sitting down, with Sarada and Sumire refilling the cup of water as he kept drinking it, in an effort to the alcohol out of his system.

Shikadai, Iwabe and Denki ran to the window and stared, in shock at what had just transpired.

"To think they would go this far," Shikadai commented as he looked out the window in the direction of the explosion. He could see thick, black, puffing smoke rising rapidly.

"Wasabi," Namida asked worriedly as she hugged her girlfriend tightly, "I'm really scared. Why are they doing this?"

Wasabi sighed as she deepened the hug. "I don't know either. It's madness, what they're doing."

"They want to bring an end to the ninja and the ninja way," Mitsuki replied to her. "To us, it may be madness, but to them, it's simply logical human progress. Adaptation, evolution, and change."

"Which is why they use science, and not ninjutsu, to carry out their plans," Sumire added. "But they also claim to fight for the poor and forgotten of society…"

Sarada shook her head. "They only use those reasons for their destructive purposes and their own selfish agenda. I believe they're dragging the name of science into the dirt."

Denki slammed his closed fist against the window, which thankfully did not shatter, as it was Plexiglas and not normal glass. After shaking off how much it hurt, he concurred with the two girls. "I agree! It pisses me off, how badly they make science and progress look. In my opinion, Kara only seeks to only want to spread division, anger, and hatred amongst the Ninja nations. Nothing more."

More explosions were heard, as well as pleas for help, and cackling, unnerving, maniacal laughter. Trembling sobs from Namida where stifled by Wasabi, while worried gasps escaped from Himawari.

"Alright guys," Sarada rose and addressed everyone in the room, "I think we're safer off hunkering down in here for now. Barricade the doors and windows. We don't know how many attackers there are, where they'll attack from, or even how they'll attack us. We don't know much at all, but we'll manage better by holing up here."

"We must observe the strength and tactics of our enemies first," Ryogi pointed out, "before we either engage them or try to escape."

"Ryogi," Shikadai replied, "we may be able to observe the attackers from the roof. Let's go up there?" Ryogi thought about it for a second, then nodded, and the two of them went out the door and up to the roof.

"Is there a basement here?" Iwabe asked a staff member. "I could dig a tunnel through it as an emergency exit if we need it."

The staff member led him and Metal Lee to the basement storage room, while Denki opened his laptop and opened up a map of Konoha. He centered it at the restaurant, and showed the surrounding streets and buildings, and then he added routes to their homes and to important places such as the Hokage's Residence and the hospital. Another set of explosions are heard in the distance, although these ones sounded louder and closer than the first ones.

"I'll tell Iwabe in what direction and how far to dig," Denki said, taking a picture of the map using his phone. "You guys plan the defense up here," he added before following Iwabe down to the basement.

Mitsuki kept communicating with Orochimaru through his messenger snake, informing him of the latest events on the ground and in the restaurant, as well as updating the group of what Orochimaru knows.

"Should we break the glass already?" Wasabi asked Sarada. "Just to make sure we won't be hit with shards of broken glass if an explosion happens nearby?"

"But isn't that Plexiglas? Explosions can make it shatter, but what can any of us do to it? None of us have any explosion tags on us, I'm sure."

"We have Namida," Wasabi confidently said as she looked at Namida, then at Sarada. Sarada saw Wasabi's utter confidence in Namida and nodded. Wasabi patted Namida on the shoulder. "You can do this. I'll be gathering everything I can use here for the barricades."

Namida grinned to Wasabi. "I got this," she replied, and prepared to cast her jutsu.

"WAIT!" Inojin interrupted her, "Shouldn't we plug our ears first? Last time she did this, my ears would have exploded if Nue hadn't put on my earmuffs in time."

Namida looked at him with an incredulous look. "You have no idea, don't you?" She rolled her eyes then clasped her hands together and formed hand signs. "Sound Style: Shatter." Between her palms, the air visibly began to vibrate with a copious amount of kinetic energy. Namida then released forward the vibration into a small, focused sound wave that shattered the three glass panes directly in front of her into a million pieces. It was limited in its angle of action, and so to the surprise of Inojin and Himawari who covered their ears anyway, they heard no sound coming their way.

"Told you," she smiled and held up a peace sign, as she focused on another set of glass panes. Wasabi quickly flung over chairs and tables, to cover up and barricade the windows and prevent anyone from going in through them, at least without them wasting valuable time and alerting them to their presence.

"We should… probably have some scout animals… to make sure we see anyone coming from a distance…" Inojin let out after a long period of awkward silence, due to being shown up by Namida of all people. He pulled out his scrolls and quickly drew up six of his ink lions, though he did make sure to make them dark-hued instead of his normal rainbow colored ones, just to make sure they won't be easily spotted. Himawari also drew up some ink animals of her own, the same way that Inojin had taught her over the summer, and together they went outside to ask Shikadai and Ryogi, who were still on the roof, where to post the scouts strategically.

"I'm feeling better now," Chocho suddenly said, standing up and walking about, albeit with a slight sign of dizziness.

"Oh," Sarada remarked, a bit shocked. "You recovered from being wasted that quickly?"

"It's a skill that I got from my parents… I wonder how they're doing."

"I'm sure they're doing fine," Sarada assured Chocho, as they hear even more explosions, which were a lot louder and seemed closer than the previous ones.

_They're definitely coming closer_, Sumire thought to herself as she was preparing to summon Nue. "They're probably fighting off the attackers right now. So is Lord Seventh."

"And my dad," Sarada continued. "Do you think we can help them out? I'm sure they'll need as much help as they can get."

Sumire summoned Nue, then scanned the surrounding areas using Nue's affinity for dark chakra. "I think we can help, though I'm sensing dark chakra coming our way right now. It's coming from the east, still quite far off, but definitely moving in our general direction."

Boruto finally rose from his chair, assisted by Mitsuki before standing on his own power. "I'm alright now, don't feel that tipsy or weak anymore."

His eye was still active, Sumire and Sarada noted. "Do you see what Sumire is sensing?" Sarada asked him.

Boruto focused his eyes in the direction Sumire pointed to. "I'd say they're still about a kilometer away… Yeah, there are two distinct chakra signatures coming our way."

Chocho put her two fists together. "We'll show them the price for attacking our city."

Himawari, Inojin, Shikadai, and Ryogi all reentered the door before locking it shut. "We posted the scout animals up," Himawari proudly said to Boruto. "We'll sense anything that passes by them, and have ample warning time to prepare."

Boruto patted his sister on the head and fist-bumped Inojin, as Shikadai and Ryogi, as well as Mitsuki, all inputted into Denki's map the information they gathered, as well as the plans and strategies they formed, as Sumire, Sarada, and Chocho all sat down at the table looking at the laptop and discussing how to hold out. Wasabi and Namida returned after they finished barricading the windows, while Metal Lee, Denki, and Iwabe all also came back after digging the tunnel to a neighboring apartment building two blocks away. Boruto kept track of the Kara member's chakra signatures, which were growing ever closer to them.

"Wait," Himawari warned her friends. "The scout animals are reporting that the Kara members have passed into the outermost perimeter we've set."

While motioning to Denki to pay attention to update his laptop, Sarada asked, "How many perimeters did you set?"

"We set 3," Shikadai replied. "At 100, 250, and 500 meters. That means they've passed the 500 meter mark."

"Shikadai, Ryogi," Boruto asked, "what have you guys come up with?" Before they could reply, several huge, deafening explosions occurred nearby, then a gradual lurching sound. It was strangely reminiscent of metal straining and stressing, struggling mightily to maintain its form.

"That doesn't sound too good," Namida noted as she scrambled to the window. "Why are they doing this-SHIT!"

A terrible, horrific, crashing noise followed as Namida cursed and ran back to her friends from the window. After a few seconds, a choking plume of grey dust and pitch-black smoke burst into the diner through the partially covered windows. Thinking fast, Sumire formed a water wall, which surrounded the group, as well as the remaining staff members, from floor to ceiling. The plume of dust went around the water wall, wandering and floating about without settling on the floor. After more than five minutes, Sumire let her water wall fall, which mixed with some of the settled dust to become a black, sticky, sooty substance. Still, the air was thick with choking black smoke and the blinding grey dust that begun to cling to and cover the exposed skin and faces of those inside the restaurant.

"Get out of here now!" Sarada told the remaining staff members, who quickly bolted out through the basement and Iwabe's improvised tunnel to the nearby building. Meanwhile, Sumire washed everyone's faces of the soot.

"What… the fuck… was that?" Wasabi nervously asked as she approached the window.

"You don't want to know," Namida tried to pull her back, but Wasabi broke free of her grasp and leaned out side the window.

Wasabi's eyes opened wide in utter shock. "They… they brought the whole damn building down."

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Vanquish any sign of resistance," Jigen commanded his fellow Kara members through their encrypted radios, as they prepared to advance into the city, two on each quadrant or side. "Break their morale, their spirits, and their belief in each other. Konoha should not survive the night."

With that, they bombed and sapped the walls and barriers, causing them to structurally fail and collapse. They then entered Konoha, overwhelming and massacring the early responders.

_"__This is Number 1,"_ Delta's feminine voice rung through,_ "on the west side. I can't really speak for Number 7, but I'm definitely in the mood for some destruction. Can we devastate these industrial and office areas?" _

Jigen thought about it for a second. It would indeed serve as a major distraction for the defending ninja, to split their focus on healing and saving the wounded civilians, as well as to fight their invasion. "Go ahead. Wreak as much havoc as you can."

_"__Well, I want to try out these new weapons anyway. Number 1 out." _Afterwards, distant explosions and screams of panic and anguish were heard from her direction.

_"__Number 2 here, north side. These new weapons sure are handy as killing machines. We don't even need to exert any chakra, so we can save it for the big attacks in the endgame."_

"Agreed," Jigen replied. His plan was going well. They had caught Konoha off guard, for the most part.

_"__Number 8 here, north side as well," _the voice of none other than Koji crackled_. "Remember everyone, don't use chakra unless absolutely necessary. We're finishing off the ninja way after all. To use chakra while doing so would be quite hypocritical on our part."_

_"__This is Number 9. Number 6 and I are encountering some heavy resistance in the south." _A loud boom crackled through the radio._ "Dammit, these fucking assholes are quite the hassle."_

_"__Number 5 here on the east side. Umm… Number 3 broke his radio. Don't ask me how; even I don't know how he managed that." _A curse from his partner barreled through the radio right after. _"In any case, he requests permission to collapse the skyscrapers and apartment buildings."_

"You have my permission," Jigen authorized. Right after, he saw multiple rockets blow up on a tall building, just above its midpoint. The building started leaning towards the east for about 15 seconds, before it failed completely, collapsing to the ground in a pancaking manner. It blew a terrible dust cloud in all directions, reaching more than ten blocks away, as well as at least a hundred meters in the air, dwarfing and obscuring the other skyscrapers in the area. Jigen couldn't help but smile. Like that skyscraper, Konoha was about to fall.

_"__Number Five here… ugh, don't be too full of yourself!"_ He interrupted himself to scold his partner, while sighing exasperatedly. _"Number 3 said he saw some young ninja at the restaurant, around 300 meters to our west. We will engage."_

* * *

_**So this chapter dealt with Kawaki's burning hatred due to his feeling of being betrayed by Konoha, the beginning of Kara's Assault on Konoha, Naruto and the other adults trying to counter and cope with the quickly worsening situation, and Boruto and the rest of the New Generation trying to hunker down and survive. But as they've been spotted by the enemy, what do you think will happen in the next chapter? Answer in the reviews ^_^**_

_**PS: Did anyone else get the reference with the phrase, "Crack the Sky and Shake The Earth?" Answer in the reviews as well, where do you think it came from? ^_^**_

_**PPS: I had a HUGE scare... Last night, I thought I lost the entire 200,000+ word document because all the characters (including spaces) turned into damn asterisks! And it autosaved right after as well! Nothing could be done to save the document huhuhu! :'(**_

_**However, I luckily had a backup version from Wednesday, since I send the most current version of my story to myself on FB messenger once a week. I was able to re-download it and use that file instead.**_

_**Still, I lost 3-4 days of framing and writing. But at the very least, I didn't lose the entire story... pheeew... :'(**_


	4. The Siege of Konoha

**_Happy Sumire Day! Unfortunately, since this story was uploaded late, we couldn't get to the chapters with Sumire's birthday in time huhuhu sorry :(_**

**_But, at least she's here! And this work has Sumire as one of its main protagonists anyway! ^_^_**

**_Anyway, enjoy the new chapter! The battle has begun!_**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Siege of Konoha**

From inside the Thunder Burger establishment, Wasabi, Namida, Sumire, Chocho, Boruto, Sarada, Shikadai, and Ryogi were all staring out the window in disbelief at what had taken just place. The plume of dense smoke and ash was still rising from the foundation and rubble of the skyscraper that had just been brought down by Kara. The thick black smoke and ashen gray dust still kept flowing into the restaurant through the gaps in the barricade, and it gave those who breathed it in a choking, suffocating sensation. Inojin was comforting Himawari, telling her not to look, while Denki was sitting in front of his laptop, hands on his face. The owner of the building was their family friend and close business associate, after all. Metal Lee and Iwabe were preparing their weapons from pocket scrolls, which Metal's mother Tenten had given to him for emergency uses, for the coming attack and their escape plan. Meanwhile, Mitsuki was still informing his father of their situation, as well as asking for much-needed advice on what to do.

Suddenly, Boruto's eye flashed once again, and he could see that the Kara members were no more than 300 meters away, and moving in on their specific position. Closing his eyes for a second to give them some rest, he opened them and immediately saw the two Kara members, who were looking directly at them from the rooftops of another apartment building several blocks away. Sumire also sensed their negative chakra and saw them looking directly at her and her group of friends.

"Get away from the windows now!" Sumire warned them as she pointed to the Kara members. They backed away, and returned to the table.

"I think they saw us," Sarada said in a worried voice. "Shikadai, Ryogi, Boruto, if ever you guys have a plan for defense, now's the time to tell us."

"We need them to come to us," Ryogi replied.

"That's right," Shikadai concurred. "They can't use their explosions inside this place because that would kill them too."

Sarada nodded then asked further, "But how do we draw them in here in the first place?"

"No need for that," Sumire responded. "They're coming here to us. They're about 200 meters away, and closing in really fast."

"But I don't even know their fighting style," Shikadai debated, "nor what weapons or jutsus they use! How do we fight them?"

"We just give them everything we've got," Boruto affirmed. "Support each other, use your strengths to cover each other's weaknesses. There are 14 of us and 2 of them, so we need coordination and teamwork."

"That's not enough!" Shikadai retorted. "We can only go so far with skill and grit and guts! We need an actual plan, and lots of luck too.

Sarada was wondering how they could catch the Kara members off guard, or lull them into a false sense of security and overconfidence, to underestimate the collective strength of everyone in the room. Suddenly, she thought of a risky plan. "I have an idea… Wasabi, you're not going to like this…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

The two Kara members tried to open the door, but it was barricaded shut. The younger one, with short, raven black hair, was tired from both the fighting and from the wanton destruction his partner was causing. "We can just go through the windows, right?"

His companion glanced at him with a disappointed look. He was a fat old man, in his early 60's, with graying hair and wrinkly, calloused skin. "But that'll let them know where we are. We could easily get stuck and they could attack us while we're just entering."

"Smart of them to barricade," the younger Kara Inner, who was in his late 20's, groaned. "But you could just blow them up right now."

"Boo! Fuck off, Grado! You're no fun!"

"Dammit Palparan, you idiot! What did Lord Jigen tell us right before we entered the city? No names! Have you forgotten why that rule is in play?"

"I know why," the older Kara Inner member named Palparan talked down to his younger counterpart in a condescending voice. "But I don't give a fuck! I don't have any close family left anyway. And I'm sure you don't have any either."

"Actually, I do. Why do you think I joined Kara? To fight for them and the people who've ended up like us!"

Palparan laughed and rolled his eyes in apathy. "Did you really think I would give a shit whether you have family or not? Or what you're fighting for? We're only partners tonight to help Jigen sow chaos, kill the ninja, destroy this city, and help Jigen's goal. Nothing else. I just want to have some fun in this damned dreary city. Come on now!"

"Ugh, screw you old man! Fine Palparan. But you destroy the door."

Scoffing, the old Kara member kicked the door repeatedly, until finally he decided to destroy the handle and locks, and it swung open, pushing some tables and chairs away as well. Upon stepping inside, they saw a brown-haired girl sitting on the only table left standing, shaking and quietly sobbing. The two Kara members started approaching her slowly. The older ones put his hand on her shoulder while remaining behind her, while the younger one went to the opposite side of the table and faced her.

"Are you alright?" Grado asked her, the concern in his voice clear and surprisingly genuine. The brunette shook her head. "Where are your other friends?"

"I… I don't know. I came back from the bathroom after the loud explosion outside, and they were all gone. They all left me behind." Tears left her eyes and quickly flowed down her face. She pointed to a window at the far side that had its barricade hastily torn down, implying they had fled through there.

"Don't worry," the one behind her assured her. "We'll take good care of you," he continued as he went for her breasts, squeezing and fondling with them roughly.

Palparan whispered audibly in the kunoichi's ear, "You look like the type of girl who doesn't resist too much. Exactly the type I like to fuck…" He then picked her up and slammed her onto the table, an audible moan of pain coming from the girl.

The younger Kara member looked on with a look partially of disgust and partially of disbelief at what he was seeing. "Are you fucking kidding me, Palparan? And at a time like this? You're bloody insane! …Ugh, I'll wait outside then. I'll try to spot where her friends went."

Unbeknownst to them, the group actually had not left, but was hiding silently behind the counter. They were looking on and were ready to strike when the guard of the Kara members was down. Wasabi, however, was having a really hard time waiting, as she was watching Namida in the first stages of being sexually abused.

"I am going to kill him," she muttered as she clenched her fists and grit her sharp teeth. "I swear I am going to kill him."

Sumire, even though she felt horrible for Wasabi and scared for Namida, warned Wasabi quietly, "Not yet. Both of them are still there. We have to get their guard down first."

"Why did I agree to your stupid plan in the first place?" Wasabi angrily muttered to Sarada.

"How would I have known that he would be this evil?" Sarada tried to reason with Wasabi.

"We're extremely lucky that they didn't choose to kill Namida at first sight," Sumire added, breathing tense but with a temporary relief. "But that was a huge risk, Sarada."

"Look, I'm sorry for putting Namida at risk-"

"Look at that!" Wasabi whisper-yelled as loudly as she could without alerting the attackers to their presence. "Namida is getting raped right in front of my eyes! And it's your fault!"

"Wasabi," Sumire turned Wasabi around to face her, "Please listen to me… We won't let it get to that. I promise." Wasabi looked at her, tears starting to form in her eyes. Wasabi hugged her tightly, and Sumire made her look away from what was happening.

"No one move or make a sound," Sarada silently whispered to everyone else. "We only attack when their guards are down, preferably when we split them up. And Nue, give us the earplugs now."

Looking at Sumire who quietly nodded to it, Nue starting handing out the earplugs from its pouch to everyone with its tail.

"You sure you don't want to join me?" The old man holding Namida down asked his partner, as he was unbuckling his belt.

The only response that was given by Grado was, "Fuck off, I'm not into that shit," as a look of annoyance and dismissal was instead shown. The younger Kara member, who looked like he at least had some principles unlike his old partner, walked outside and spoke into his radio. "Number 5 here, east side. We'll be… delayed in meeting up at the center. Number 3 here is… umm… forcing himself… onto a young girl…"

"Tell it like it is!" The vile old man named Palparan retorted loudly, wanting to be heard in the radio. "If you guys can hear me, I'm raping her," he screamed between fits of laughter.

"Well… yes." The young man named Grado, who called himself Number 5 like a secret code name, sighed into the radio he held in his right hand. "He is… No, he doesn't listen to me! He's all like 'Respect your elders' and shit… The girl? She was left behind by her group; I'm looking out for that group now. It was the large one we saw a while ago."

Palparan looked at the girl, his grin full of malice and lust, and his pants down. "I'll try to make sure you enjoy it. I won't guarantee it though. But at least I'll let you live after all this is done." He pulled her shorts down, revealing her panties, while letting his hands grope her breasts her above her shirt. He started to groan, relishing his dominance over the girl, whose eyes were still shut tight.

Suddenly, the girl opened her eyes and tightly clenched her fingers on his wrists, her nails drawing blood from his wrinkly skin. "My name is Namida, you motherfucker," she smiled creepily, with yandere-like eyes, at the old man above her. "And I'll make sure you die."

"What-" Namida didn't even give him a chance to reply, as she inhaled deeply and then unleashed her signature, colorful, vicious sound wave blast jutsu at full power. Her scream was one not primarily of fear or sadness, but of anger and hate. She had merely feigned her fear and sorrow. The resulting sound wave caught Palparan, as well as Grado outside, completely off guard. The old man's head torqued and bent backwards at an awkward angle while Namida held on tightly to him. When she finally let go of his bloody wrists after five seconds, he was blown backwards straight into the ground. He curled up into a fetal position and tried to cover his ears until the sound waves stopped.

"Why you little fucking bitch!" The vile old Kara member screamed as he pulled out his weapon from its holster. He was about to shoot her, but he was instead shot in the hand and arm by two quick water bullets from Sumire, then pounced upon by Wasabi.

The younger Kara Inner, who was disoriented from the deafening noise, stood outside looking at what had happened. He internally cursed himself for not checking behind the counter, but he also blamed it on the absolutely reprehensible actions of his partner. He then saw seven young ninja looking at him from the entrance and moving towards him. Looking at them and analyzing them, he could tell that that they were all individually strong and skilled, and together they could pack a punch, and even take a Kara Inner down, as they did to Palparan. One of them, a wide brown skinned girl, ran towards him, with a partially enlarged arm, and he stepped back before she smacked the ground before him. Another one's shadow jutsu, one he knew would paralyze him, followed his movements eagerly. Not wanting to risk having the same fate as Palparan, he retreated quickly.

"Number 5 speaking. Number 3 got himself captured. Be advised, I'm coming over to the south."

Wasabi put her claws on the throat of the struggling Palparan, as Mitsuki restrained him with his extended limbs. Sarada put him under genjutsu using her Sharingan, and Sumire sucked all of his chakra reserves dry with the dark chakra snake of Nue. The rest of the group went back in. "The other one was smart, he fled," Shikadai told the ones inside.

Sumire finished, and the old man was visibly a husk of his former self, as he had his chakra fully drained.

"She's mine, and I'm hers, you know?" Wasabi informed him, with Namida holding her other hand while looking away. "And you tried to rape her… in front my eyes… Big mistake. The last one you'll ever make." Wasabi quickly punctured and slashed his throat. Blood spurted from the wound as he collapsed onto the ground, twitching and choking for several seconds, trying in vain to breathe his last words out, before lying still on an expanding pool of his own blood. Everyone looked away from the gory scene, except for a smiling Wasabi, whom Namida had to pull away.

"One down," Sarada said, with relief pouring out from her voice. "How many of them are there?"

"There are nine left," Mitsuki replied after informing Orochimaru of their kill. "My father is telling me that the Hokage, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru, and others are holding two of them at bay in the south side of the city, and the rest of the old generation is trying to push back another two in the north."

"We repelled the two attacking the east." Denki put his laptop on the table and updated the map. With a flick of his fingers, he expanded it beyond their original perimeter, and included much of the city. Everyone took a seat around the table.

"It's 1:07 am right now," Denki noted as he turned again to Mitsuki. "You're still talking to your father, right? How are things going on the west side of Konoha?"

"It seems that the defenders there are being driven back to the city center by two attackers as well. The head of the police force and most of the policemen are there. But the west is falling fast."

Denki updated the map with the new information. "I think it's safe to assume that they attacked Konoha with 2 on each quadrant side. But that only accounts for 8, Mitsuki. What about the other two unaccounted for?"

"The ninth is only observing and coordinating them from a safe distance. The tenth, the one who bombed the marketplace, is nowhere to be found. Even my father doesn't know who or where he is, nor does Lord Hokage, nor anyone else."

"Does anyone here want to help reinforce the west flank?" Ryogi asked while observing the battle map. "It sounds like they're having an extremely difficult time holding out."

"I don't know, it looks like a lost cause there," Shikadai mused. "We're probably better off helping out my dad in the south or my mom in the north. If we can help either of them win, we'll free up a lot more forces to help out the other side, then mop up the western front from multiple sides."

"I agree, but only partially," Sarada tapped her fingers on the table. "I think we should still send a few people over there to help keep the attackers at bay in the west."

"Yes we should," Sumire agreed with Sarada. "What happens to us if the western front falls completely while we're still fighting on both the northern and southern sides? We'll be surrounded once they take the center, not to mention they'll kill many who evacuated deeper into the city."

"We'll be trapped by a pincer movement," Ryogi pointed out. "True. We can't let the west side fall to Kara, or else they'll literally fuck us from both sides."

Sarada got a pen and paper from her purse. "Alright, so we have to split into three groups. Group A will assist the north flank, Group B will support the south side where Lord Seventh and my dad are, and Group C will help the west hold out for long enough to give us time to reinforce."

"Wait," Boruto interrupted. "Mitsuki, who exactly are defending the north side?"

"They're still assembling," Mitsuki got the paper where he wrote all the information his father was telling him. He looked at it, before telling his blonde friend, "Your mom is there, if that's what you wanted to know." He gave it to Boruto, who set it on the center of the table as everyone looked at it. Hinata, Shino, Ino, Choji, Karui, and Temari were all preparing themselves to fight in the north quadrant, while Kotaro, Rock Lee, and Kiba were holding onto the failing west front, and Naruto and Sasuke were defending the south part of the city, though the paper noted that Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, and Kakashi, were either on hand or on their way south as well.

"I hope my parents will be safe there," Chocho said worriedly.

"For once," Inojin piped up, "we agree there, Chubs."

"Guys," Sarada caught their attention again, "we still need to choose the groups. "Who wants Group A, the northern front?"

After a few moments of thought, Inojin raised his hand. Immediately after, Himawari did as well. Iwabe, Chocho, and Ryogi followed.

"Who wants in on Group B, the south side?"

Boruto, Mitsuki, Sumire, Shikadai, and Sarada raised their hands. After a few moments, Wasabi and Namida raised their hands too.

"No," Sarada told them, "too few people will be left for the west defense."

"Well," Wasabi replied, "whoever's left I guess? So that's me, Namida, Metal Lee, and Denki?"

"Yeah, that will do. So, the groups are all complete."

"Alright," Sarada put her fist in the middle of the table, and everyone else followed for a group fist bump. "Let's move out. Our parents, friends, and Konoha, all need us."

"YEAH! LET'S DO THIS!" The group said in unison.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Naruto and Sasuke were fighting off the two Kara members when Sakura arrived. "From what I gather," Sakura asked them, "this doesn't happen to be another Otsusuki attack, is it?"

"Nope," Sasuke told her. "These guys are human."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "But these guys are still strong."

"Team 7 reunited once again." The three of them looked behind and saw Kakashi, Sai, and Shikamaru re-enforcing them. "Though not quite in the circumstances I would have preferred."

"We can hang out and catch up later," Naruto told him, "but for now, we need to stop these guys first."

"Ohh please," one of the Kara members spoke up, "you'll stop us? You have no idea how much the world has passed you by, have you?"

The other Kara member pulled out his weapon and aimed it at them. "The end of the ninja way is close by. Our leader watches us from afar, and even if we fall here, he will ensure our victory."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of metaphor?" Shikamaru asked.

"No," Sasuke replied, "I think he means it literally. Either their leader is here somewhere, or he will be here soon."

"Shikamaru," Naruto ordered, "there are still innocent civilians in our area. Can you try to get them all out of here? They might get caught up in the battle."

"On it," Shikamaru replied as he left.

"Sai," Naruto turned to him, "can you be in charge of communication? We need to know how the battles are going elsewhere in Konoha and the Shinobi Union, and if possible, any weaknesses in our enemies. So keep in contact with Orochimaru for that purpose."

"Will do." Sai bowed out of the battle.

"Sasuke," Naruto asked, "You sure you're not rusty?"

"Nope. I'm sure you're the one who needs to shake off the rust."

Naruto laughed. "Probably true. I still got this though, you know?" Sasuke gathered chakra with his Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan at the ready, while Sakura accessed her inner monstrous strength, as well as putting her healing abilities on point. Kakashi readied his purple lightning.

"You know this is a futile fight," the Kara member warned them.

"For you," Sasuke asserted and smirked, as he drew out his katana and pointed to their two enemies. Naruto decided it was a good time to tap into Kurama's Chakra Mode. Sasuke formed the Partial-Body Susanoo, which armored and molded around the Nine-Tails Chakra, just as it had in their battle against Momoshiki years ago.

"If only I still had my Sharingan," mused Kakashi, "I would be able to help a whole lot more."

"You still have a lot left to give," Sakura told him. "We both have a large role to play in this fight."

Kakashi nodded and replied, "I'll do my best with what I still have."

The four of them and the two Kara attackers met each other in a clashing storm of swords, jutsus, and volleys of fire and metal.

Away from the battle unfolding, Shikamaru organized the survivors and led them towards the evacuation areas and away from the conflict zones. Sai was communicating with Orochimaru by about the events on the ground, and providing him with descriptions of their modern weapons. He was also trying to call Ino, hoping that Kara had not yet made it to the center of the city, where the cell towers of Kaminarimon Company were located. Finally, someone picked up the call on the other end.

_"__Sai!" _Ino exclaimed._ "How are you holding up there?"_

"I'm fine, don't worry," Sai told her as he put her on speaker. "Lord Seventh, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi-Sensei are doing all the fighting. I'm here in charge of comms."

_"__That's good. Stay out of the danger zone. Have you heard from the kids yet?"_

"Not yet. The last I heard of them, they were still in the burger place."

_"__Excuse me,"_ Orochimaru interrupted them, _"but I have just gotten updated information regarding them. According to Mitsuki, they routed the two attacking Kara Inners at the restaurant they were in. They are all alive and moving over to support you. I heard Inojin and Himawari are coming over to you, Ino."_

"Thank goodness," Sai breathed as if he was unburdened from a heavy weight on his shoulders.

_"__Thanks for the info,"_ Ino gratefully thanked Orochimaru.

"Anyway," Sai continued talking to Ino, "where are you now?"

_"__I'm just north of the marketplace. I saw Hinata rush past me a minute ago, though I'm waiting for reinforcements. I think… yes, Temari just arrived now…"_

_ "__Sai!" _Temari's voice burst from the phone._ "Have you heard anything about Shikadai and Ryogi? And my husband?"_

"Your husband's safe with us, don't worry. He's evacuating everyone south into the city center. As for Shikadai and Ryogi and their friends, Orochimaru said they routed two invaders in the east."

Temari was still worried, as any mother would be in this situation._ "Where are they now?"_

Sai paused, not remembering if Orochimaru told him anything about that. "Orochimaru, where are Shikadai and Ryogi going?"

_"__Hold on, wait…" _In the background, Orochimaru was heard shuffling for the right notes. _"According to Mitsuki, Shikadai is in Group B, so he's going over to where Shikamaru is. Ryogi is part of Group A, so he's coming over to you, Temari."_

Temari's audible sigh of relief came from the other side of the line. "I'm glad they're okay…"

"Keep yourselves safe, and do what you can over there," Sai told them. "Ino, I'll meet up with you after the battle."

_"__I hope you didn't just jinx that," _Ino replied with worry. _"I love you. Stay safe there too, you hear me?"_

"I love you too. Call me when Inojin and his group arrive there. And tell me about any other developments." With that, Sai dropped the call.

Orochimaru's voice popped up in the radio once more, although there was a lot of crackle and static. _"Damn…. Oto is under attack…" _Sai made out from the increasingly static radio. More explosions crackled through the radio. _"…Being bombed right n… Kara's here as we…"_

"I'll keep you posted for more updates," he assured Orochimaru. "Once we repel the attack and reorganize, we'll help you guys out."

_"__Keep… son, Mitsuki safe-"_ The line cut out afterwards, replaced by static that did not go away.

"We will," Sai sighed as he turned off the radio. In the distance, he saw a flash of colors rushing towards him. Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet. "Orochimaru, your son is here," he mused as if he was talking to Orochimaru, as the colors became clearer and he realized who they were.

"Sai-sensei!" Sumire exclaimed as they arrived. "I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm also happy to see you all," Sai greeted them back.

"Where's Dad and Lord Seventh?" Sarada asked.

"Are they okay?" Boruto added.

"They're close by," Sai replied to them. "Your mother is also there, Sarada, as well as Lord Sixth."

"Really? Guys, let's go there now! We have to help them in whatever ways we can!"

"Wait," Sai interrupted. You guys came from a reunion, right? So I assume none of you have any weapons on hand?" The group paused. "Don't worry, get them here," Sai gave them a bag of ninja weapons, from which they all got kunai, shuriken, and paper bombs.

"Keep safe, Sai-sensei," Sumire told him as the five of them left.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Hinata looked around at the devastation that Kara had caused to Konoha. Around her, people lay in the streets and ruined houses, dead or dying in pools of blood. Men, women, and children, ninja and civilians alike, were all suffering and bleeding out, with holes burrowed deep into their bodies, and in some cases, entire limbs had been sheared off. _"They didn't even bother discriminating,"_ she thought as her blood came to boil.

"You two will pay for what you've done," she threatened them as she activated her Byakugan and formed signs. "Twin Lion Fists."

One of the attackers laughed and aimed his weapons at her. "You'll kill the both of us? You're alone, and we'll make sure you'll die alone."

"But she's not alone." Out from the shadows, Temari and Ino landed aside her.

"And there's more where they came from," said Karui, who was basically holding on for dear life to Choji who had used his butterfly wings to get both of them to the battle as quickly as possible. Just trailing them was Shino, who had his hordes of bugs out in full force.

The two Kara attackers recognized these people as heroes of Konoha from the Fourth Great Ninja War. Nonetheless, they readied themselves for the fight.

One of the Kara Inners, the same one that had threatened Hinata moments earlier, radioed their comrades. "Number 2 here, we've encountered some strong ninja, heroes from the last great ninja war. Please advise." Before he could get any reply, Hinata, Temari and Karui charged at them, while Choji transformed into a human boulder and was rolling out against them, and Shino was trying to use his bugs to swarm, distract, or even catch them.

"Koji, the odds are stacked against us now. Should we retreat?"

"Not yet Verne, we have to drain their strength first," Kashin Koji responded as he dodged Shino's bugs and Choji's partial expansion attacks at the same time. "Or take them out, if we can… I'm sorry to say this, but we'll have to use our jutsus right now."

Koji formed hand signs and blew oil and fire at the Konoha war heroes, while Verne unleashed the full fury of his loud and heavy weapon onto the defenders. Most of them were able to deflect and dodge the hail of small metal projectiles that came their way, though Choji was hit twice in the chest and was badly wounded. Ino and Karui ran to him, both attempting to heal him and stop the gushing blood from flowing out of his body.

"You're Hinata, right?"

Hinata turned and faced one of the Kara members, the one whom she heard a while ago call himself "Number 8". He looked eerily familiar to someone he had seen known before, when she was a teenager. She stepped back to a safe distance, and kept her guard up. "Who are you?"

"I am Kashin Koji. I know your son personally as well. However, you probably know me and remember me as someone else," he told her as he summoned a huge boiler toad above her. Hinata barely got out of the way as the giant toad landed where she had been only a split-second ago. He then formed a rasengan and slammed her with it, sending her flying backwards into a wall and breaking through it. Shino tried to hold him back with his swarm, only to be knocked back easily by the toad.

Hinata coughed up blood as she rose back to her feet. She tried to hit an approaching Kashin Koji with her Gentle Fist, but it was expertly blocked. He grabbed her arm and put her in a restraining chokehold, and aimed the barrel of his weapon to her head. He led her back out into full view of everyone else. "Cease your futile resistance, unless you want me to blow her head off."

Temari looked at Hinata, who was furiously shaking her head, then at Ino and Karui. Then, she saw some colored-ink animals in the distance, slowly nearing them. She realized that Inojin, Himawari, Ryogi, and others were somewhere close by. She glared at Kashin Koji and closed her eyes. "If we surrender, you'll let her go?"

"NO!" Hinata screamed. "If you surrender, this will all be for nothing. We're all going to die!"

Kashin Koji tightened the chokehold and had his finger coiled to pull the trigger at a moment's notice. "No funny business from any of you."

"You'll all be forgotten," Verne continued with a cold laugh. "You'll all turn to dust an- arghhh!" Out of nowhere, he stopped and coughed up blood, as a spear of cold ice impaled him from behind. Ryogi kicked him down and severed his head with the tip of his ice spear, making sure that he would not somehow resurrect like in the video games that he, Shikadai, Inojin, Boruto, Denki, and Mitsuki played.

"We won't be the forgotten ones," he retorted with his deadpan look pointed towards the decapitated attacker, and then to Kashin Koji.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY MOM!" Himawari screamed as she rushed in with her own gentle fist. Koji let go of Hinata to block it. The ground on which Koji was standing shook and rose, pushing him further from Hinata.

"Nice job, Iwabe!" Inojin said as he set his rainbow-colored lions to chase after the lone attacker. Koji jumped backwards and easily dispatched the animals. Only then did he sense that Chocho was right above him, with her arms partially expanded. He barely dodged her attack as well, sidestepping away at the last millisecond.

"The situation is now untenable," he assessed. "Very well, I bid you all adieu." With that, Kashin Koji retreated, and his giant boiler toad disappeared as well.

With the threat out of the way, everyone rushed to Choji's side. He had two large holes in his chest. He was having a very difficult time breathing, as blood was pouring from his mouth.

"I can't stop the bleeding," Ino told them. "We have to get him to the hospital right now. Tsunade is there right now, and we'll operate on him as quickly as possible."

It took six of them, Karui, Chocho, Shino, Ino, Inojin, and Ryogi, to carry Choji to the hospital. The rest, including Hinata and Himawari, moved on to help Naruto in the southern quadrant of Konoha. Once the six carrying Choji reached Konoha Hospital, Konohamaru, Hanabi, Tsunade, and the rest of the staff brought him to one of the few remaining vacant emergency operating rooms immediately. Inojin and Ryogi took a breather first and lied down on the floor for five minutes, their strength having been sapped away both the battles and having to carry Chocho's father from the field to the hospital, which was about a kilometer and a half away. Shino looked out from the glass panes at the devastation to the west and south.

Chocho hugged her mom tightly, crying into her shoulder. "Is Dad going to be alright?"

Karui didn't reply for a long while. Through the glass window, she looked at the operating room where Choji was undergoing emergency surgery to save his life. It was Lady Fifth who was tending him, after all, so the best treatment was being given to her husband. Still, she had never seen those weapons, nor had she seen those kinds of wounds before. It seemed the ninja world, and the modern world, had become much more dangerous.

"I'm… I'm sure Dad will make it," Karui finally assured her daughter, trying to comfort her. "My husband is no weakling, after all. So when this is all over, I'm going to treat both of you to all the ramen and burgers and potato chips and whatever else you two would love to eat. I promise."

Once they were rested enough, Inojin and Ryogi got back to their feet, rushed out of the hospital, and ran south, where Inojin had promised Himawari and Hinata they would meet up. Ino was looking at the digital clock in the 11th floor lobby, which read 2:03 am, when she glanced at her son running by. She remembered to contact Sai once Inojin and the others came, so she called Sai.

"Sai, can you hear me?" She heard loud booms in the background.

_"__Yes dear, are Inojin and the others there with you now?"_

"They were, but they're now heading over there to support you."

_"__So I take it that you guys drove off the attack from the north?"_

"Yes… It was actually the kids who drove them off, for the most part."

"That's great news! Sounds all good there."

Ino paused. "Not really… Choji is gravely wounded. We brought him to surgery just a while ago… I don't know if he'll make it. It's really bad."

_"…__Lady Tsunade is operating on him now, isn't she? Because Sakura is here right now."_

"Yup. She's still one of the best medical ninja and surgeons Konoha has ever seen. But… I'm still worried about Choji."

_"__Are you going to assist her in the surgery?"_

"No, there are so many other people here who need my help. So many others wounded, burned, and dying… I'm going to assist them for now. If ever Lady Fifth asks for it though, I'll gladly support her."

"Alright, you go and help those people. I'll… keep the comms… up a-"

Suddenly, four nearby explosions, one right after the other, interrupted them, and the line immediately went dead. The sonic boom from the explosion and the static from the radio both rang endlessly in Ino's ears. After regaining her senses, Ino saw Shino backing away from the large glass pane windows. Ino rushed closer to take a look at what happened. Outside, she saw the Kaminarimon Company building, and the two communications towers beside it that were lurching dangerously towards it, but they held firm for a short while. The two legs of each comms tower on the side the building were bent, mangled, and somehow on fire. The fiery inferno also spread upwards on the metal trusses and beams at an unnatural pace. In less than a minute, a great metallic sound was heard as the trusses failed and gave way. The metal structure of the communications towers collapsed into the skyscraper beside it, tearing one massive gaping hole into the lower side of the glass and steel exterior of the Kaminarimon skyscraper and destroying about 10 floors, and soon enough the fire spread from the base of the two towers to inside the skyscraper. The communications towers had been destroyed, which Ino surmised was the reason why the radio signals had stopped so abruptly. Ino also saw a shadowy figure running away from the burning towers.

"They're here!" Ino concluded in panic. "Everyone, get away from the windows! Be careful of flying broken shards of glass!"

She looked to her right and saw Konohamaru and Hanabi rushing by towards the staircase. "Every able-bodied ninja," Konohamaru shouted at the top of his lungs, "assemble at the ground floor now! Barricade the entrance, and be prepared to make a stand!"

* * *

**_Fair warning: T__he next chapter will have some (formerly? old generation?) major characters dying off =O_**

**_Everyone, comment in reviews:_**

**_1) Do you think Choji will make it? =O_**

**_2) What do you guys think this weapon is? ;)_**

**_"Verne unleashed the full fury of his loud and heavy weapon onto the defenders... the hail of small metal projectiles that came their way..."_**

**_3) What did you guys think of the chapter? ^_^_**

**_Trivia of the day: "Palparan" is the name of the former Philippine general (Jovito Palparan Jr.) convicted of kidnapping, torturing, and killing several University of the Philippines (my beloved university!) students, all because he mistakenly thought they were communists. _**

**_In the story, he is brutally killed by Wasabi (actually some foreshadowing as to what her character will become in the future stories), and in real life he is going to spend the rest of his worthless life in jail, with no chance of ever seeing the light of a free day ever again. Hmph, serves him right =/_**

**_Anyway, I'll be posting Chapter 5, "Despair and Desperation" probably on Friday, with Chapter 6 on Sunday? See you then ^_^_**


	5. Despair and Desperation

**_Hello there guys! ^_^_**

**_I promised you brutality and deaths (well, maybe not the gore, but it comes as a package), and so I present to you all this chapter! War shouldn't be romanticized after all, and one of the things that I love about movies and series such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Pacific" is that they don't shy away from the brutality and goriness and the horrifying nature of war and battles fought. I hope I was able to even somewhat follow in their footsteps..._**

**_Anyway, without further ado, I give you all the next chapter! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Despair and Desperation**

"HOLD THEM BACK, DAMMIT! STAND YOUR GROUND!"

Kotaro and Kiba were struggling at the frontlines, as disorienting explosions rang all around them. They had been trying to hold off the two Kara Inners for long enough to let their decimated police officer force retreat. Most of the overmatched police shinobi had been massacred during the chaotic battle, and the two Kara members assaulting Konoha had been causing rampant chaos and destruction in their wake.

"Behold, the power of youth and training!" The two glanced back for a second to see Rock Lee arriving. "I see you two need assistance."

"And I see your wig is still there," Kiba replied annoyed, though he was glad that some help came. "Quick, we need a lot more help for this!"

"Ohh," Delta, the lone female Inner of Kara, scoffed and smirked while she held an oval shaped explosive. "This guy has a wig, you say? We'll get your wig split."

"Focus on the battle," her partner suggested somewhat sternly, as he sheathed his twin blades and pointed his other weapon, a pistol that was quite rare in this continent, at Kiba. "This is no time for cockiness, Delta."

Delta raised her hands and relented. "You got me there, Amado."

Kiba quickly used Fang Wolf Fang, but he tired himself even further with it. Realizing the dire straits Konoha was in, Rock Lee activated his 7th gate and went after the female Kara member. Kotaro led the rest of his forces to relative safety as the battle raged on behind them.

"I remember you," Amado gritted his teeth as he sidestepped Kiba's attack. "You're the one who killed my entire family." The moment Kiba and Akamaru stopped spinning, he pulled the trigger four times and sprayed four metallic bullets at them. Kiba barely dodged them, but Akamaru was hit. The dog howled in surprise and pain, before falling sideways and whimpering, breathing laboriously.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kiba screamed in anguish. He threw some kunai at the attacker, who dodged them rather easily. He ran back to Akamaru, and cradled him in his arms. "It's alright, you'll be okay," he reassured his dearest companion with tears flowing down his face, since he realized that it was a mortal wound. As Akamaru faded away, its slowly closing eyes stared at Kiba, and it licked and nudged his master one last time, before it went limp. Kiba started shaking and trembling in rage. The stars floated about inside his eyes from the hatred he felt, and those eyes of his turned an angry shade of red. He glared at the object of his hate, the one who killed his beloved Akamaru.

"You will… pay for this! I will kill you slowly! I'll make sure you feel the pain," he swore, as he lunged at his enemy.

The Kara member sighed and back stepped to avoid the attack entirely. He glared back at Kiba, who was incessantly trying to strike him down with his kunai and his fangs. "I also have a vendetta against you and your people. I am Amado Croa, from the Land of Rain… but I'm sure you know me. Remember the Croa Massacre three years ago? You and your police commando team killed my family… my entire clan… everyone I ever loved… save for myself and for my niece. And to make it equal, you, and everyone you love and hope to protect, will die tonight."

In his absolute rage, Kiba stopped caring about everything around him. Seeing blood red, he only focused on his enemy. "I DON'T CARE! I'LL FUCKING MURDER YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FRIENDS AGAIN, IN A HEARTBEAT! YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE NOW!"

"No you won't," Amado smirked and taunted Kiba. "Come at me now, you bastard! Let's see who lives and who dies tonight."

Kiba became reckless in his rage, and his opponent took advantage. The Kara member blocked a particularly reckless strike from Kiba, quickly aimed his weapon at Kiba's right leg, and fired another shot. A circular hole ripped straight through Kiba's lower leg, shattering his right shinbone and tearing a permanent cavity through the muscle and tissue. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony, but he got back up and tried to slash at his attacker's neck. Quicker to attack, Amado fired another shot into Kiba's left leg, and so Kiba fell short, his left shin was blown to bits by Amado as well. Kiba crawled and dug deep for a large pounce, but he was slowed by his severe injuries and the blood loss that followed, and once he did, Amado easily sidestepped as a bullfighter would around a raging bull. Amado backpedaled a bit to let Kiba try to stand, holstering his weapon as he watched. Kiba fell three times on his knees, which were killing him from the pain, before he finally stood, his hands on his knees.

"Rock Lee… Help me up… Now!" he demanded, his face down and grimacing from the pain. "I'll kill this motherfucker!"

Rock Lee kicked back at his feminine opponent before landing 5 meters behind Kiba. But just as Kiba faced up to look at his enemy and curse him more, Amado pulled out an extremely sharp knife from one of the two scabbards on the back of his waist and lunged forward. In the blink of an eye, he thrust his blade and stabbed Kiba in the eye, the bloody razor-sharp edge protruding from the back of Kiba's skull. Kiba groaned and shuddered in shock. Rock Lee stared in horror, eyes and mouth agape, as Amado looked at him and smirked. He kicked Kiba down, removing his knife from Kiba's head in the process, and Kiba twitched and shook for a couple of seconds before laying still in a growing pool of his own blood. Amado motioned to Rock Lee to come for him, as he pulled out another knife from the other scabbard behind his back, the twin of the one he used to kill Kiba. The other attacker arrived behind Rock Lee, but Amado waved her off.

"Delta, go after the rest of the forces… I'll deal with this one."

"You sure? All right, good luck." The woman nodded and rushed away, following the retreating Konoha forces.

Rock Lee, who was in his 7th gate, charged at him and used his power and taijutsu to try and knock down his defenses. But Amado matched him with his speed, reflexes, and parrying ability. He blocked Rock Lee's attacks with his knife and counterattacked with speed, ensuring that if Rock Lee went full power on his strikes, he would cut himself open, or even slice his own limbs off, just by the force he exerted and the speed of the countering knife.

After a while, both men had exchanged and landed strikes with one another. Rock Lee's hands and arms were full of gushing cuts, with blood quickly flowing from them. He also had a deep stab wound on his right side, which he was sure had punctured his lung. Amado on the other hand had two broken ribs from a punch he was not able to parry, as well as deep bone bruises and a few broken bones from the shear power of Rock Lee's punches and kicks. Suddenly, Amado charged forward and jump kicked Rock Lee with one leg. Rock Lee, heavily fatigued and cut at this point, guarded and blocked the attack, but as he did, his guard buckled. Amado then shifted his weight and used the other leg, turning into a flipping bicycle kick which avoided Rock Lee's buckled guard and hit him right on the chin. Rock Lee was knocked on his back, as Amado landed and prepared his knives.

Just as he was about to step forward, he noticed that a young boy, in the same outfit, and who looked the same as his opponent, rushed forth and blocked his path. A woman in a white and red kimono also joined them. Amado paused, his eyes becoming gentler, and there was an obvious change in his demeanor. He breathed deeply, then flipped his knives and sheathed them in a cross pattern behind him. "I'm not going to kill you, nor anyone else here tonight," he told the three of them. "This is a nice family you have. I won't do anything to ruin that, unlike some people here," he continued musing as he looked at a fallen Kiba. "My vendetta would be partially misplaced."

As he said this, he slowly approached Rock Lee, who was also feeling the fatigue from their duel. Tenten and Metal Lee warned him to stay back and readied themselves, but Rock Lee stood up and walked through them. "I heard what you said awhile ago… I knew part of what Kiba had done, and so I never trusted him or looked at him the same way afterwards. And I don't condone what he did at all. If ever this is any consolation for you, on behalf of all Konoha and all of the Land of Fire, I apologize. But I must ask of you, leave the rest of Konoha be. Your personal mission is done, I presume."

"As I said, my vendetta was with him and the people who took part in the massacre of my clan. Not with you, or anyone else. So while our battle is over, my mission is not quite done just yet." Still, Amado smiled, genuinely this time, and offered his hand. "But I do have to say… that was one hell of a duel we just had."

"Indeed it was," Rock Lee responded as he accepted the handshake, which they both turned into the ninja sign for reconciliation. "Though I wouldn't want to go through that again."

"Same here," Amado replied, as he saluted to them. He then sprinted away towards the south. Rock Lee looked at him for a few seconds before nearly collapsing, only to be supported by his wife and son, who brought him to the hospital.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Deeper into the city, Kotaro was bringing up the rear of his police forces, and forcing tired stragglers to keep marching. Before long however, the other Kara attacker had caught up to the police force and continued her assault on them with her explosives, launchers, and amorphous body. Kotaro, looking at his badly wounded and tired men, ordered them to keep moving, and he stood his ground.

"Don't move one step closer," Kotaro demanded of his foe, while extending his arms to block her attacker's path.

"I think you overestimate your worth," his attacker, a blond woman, with sharp, piercing, intimidating, purple eyes, warned him. "You are in no position to make any demands."

"It's my responsibility to keep Konoha and its citizens safe. As head of the police force, I will gladly die for this city, Lord Hokage, and everyone."

She aimed her rocket launcher at him. "I won't warn you again. If you don't get out of the way-" she said before she quickly pulled the trigger of her launcher anyway, firing the rocket towards her foe and hitting the ground just in front of Kotaro. Kotaro was blown a long way backwards, head over heels, before landing on the street face first. He tried to get up, but his legs weren't under him, he felt, as he fell back down on his stomach. He couldn't feel anything, nor could he move anything, below his waist.

"NOW! NAMIDA!"

"Sound Style: Sparrow's Cry Jutsu!"

Before he could be finished off by his blond foe, a deafening, disorienting, and downright painful sound wave crashed through both of them. His enemy was blown backwards, and a brunette with wasabi-green clothes came to him, flipped him onto his back, when suddenly she stopped and stared, medical ninjutsu aura already on her hands. The other kunoichi, another brunette with dawn orange clothes, covered her mouth gasping, and looked at her companion, averting her gaze from Kotaro.

"Wasabi," Namida looked at her, shaking her head as tears flowed from her eyes.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to heal me?" He asked the kunoichi beside him. "I can still fight."

She merely bit her lip and shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't think I can."

"What fucking kind of kunoichi are you then?" Kotaro screamed, filled with adrenaline. "It's not anything that bad, I'm sure of it!" He glared at her, before he got up on his elbows and looked at the damage his lower body had received. Simply put, he didn't have any legs anymore. Everything from his knees and below had been sheared off by the explosion of the rocket, which blew up directly in front of and under him. Blood was spurting out from the stumps of his severed limbs. The mere sight of his missing limbs caused Kotaro to fall into shock, the adrenaline rush finally dissipating, not into pain, but into faintness.

"I'm so sorry," Wasabi told him. Kotaro's vision started to go bleak, and as Namida approached them and kneeled alongside Kotaro, he prepared his final words.

"It's okay… this is an… honorable way… to go out… I guess," he sighed before breathing in deep. The shock was trying to lull him to sleep, and he was using every bit of power and concentration he had left to stave it off for longer. But eventually, he lay his head down on the ground and allowed the eternal sleep that the shock demanded of his body.

Wasabi and Namida, still in disbelief over his death, were disturbed by the woman behind them. The blond Kara member stood there where she had been knocked back by Namida's sound wave. She was holding her head as if she was having a throbbing headache. "Ughhh… my ears…"

Before she could fully regain her senses, Wasabi and Namida looked each other in the eye and nodded. Wasabi then charged forth in a random zigzag pattern, as light-footed and agile as a cat could possibly be. Delta fired three rockets, all of which Wasabi expertly dodged and frustrated her enough. Wasabi suddenly feinted close to the blonde, and then quickly pounced back. The blonde panicked and was misled into firing the explosive rocket too close to her own self, which knocked her back. Wasabi rushed out of the way as the Kara member staggered, and Namida fired off another powerful and colorful sound wave, even more powerful than the last one, hitting her directly in the chest and pushing her back, making her tumble head over heels. It knocked the air out from her lungs, and the blonde female got onto her knees and arms, breathing heavily and laboriously.

"Nice job Namida!" Wasabi returned to her, giving her a hi-five and kissing her on the cheek afterwards. "Your training with Orochimaru really paid off," Wasabi pointed out.

"I couldn't have done that without you distracting her," Namida replied, as she looked on at her foe.

She was getting up, albeit slowly. Then, she then let out a blood-curling growl, and then laughed. Her entire right arm transformed into a sharp sickle-like cutlass, while her left hand morphed into what looked to be a sledgehammer. "Is that all you got, you two lovebirds?"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Once Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Sumire, and Shikadai arrived to the scene of the battle, an intersection of two streets in the middle of a residential suburban district, they saw Naruto and Sasuke fighting off two Kara members, with Sakura and Kakashi also trying to get them off balance and catch them off guard.

"DAD! MOM!" Sarada exclaimed. "We're here!"

Her parents both glanced at her direction. "Sarada!" They replied in near-unison.

"How can we help?"

Suddenly, a third attacker came flying in and confronted Sakura and Kakashi with his sword and another weapon, similar to a rocket launcher in games he had played, but firing much smaller projectiles at much higher speeds. Boruto recognized him as one of the attackers in the burger restaurant they had been at a while ago. Another Kara member followed, with dual blades unsheathed, and pointed them towards Naruto. "You have a lot to answer for, Lord Seventh, with regards to the Croa Clan Massacre."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. "So, you must be Amado Croa. I'm truly sorry about what happened to your family… I had no idea… That Kiba would commit such a vile act… Nor did I order it… I swear that to you…"

Amado peered deeply into Naruto's eyes, and from the way they looked alone, he knew that Naruto was an honest man. "I'll take your word for it, then. You don't look like a man who is evil in secret."

"But please, we can talk about this in peace-"

Before anything else could be said, Kashin Koji landed in the center of their battlefield, and immediately the Kara members went into formation around him. "Do not fear, our leader is almost at hand."

Naruto and Sasuke, as well as Sakura and Kakashi, returned to their side as well. "Help your mother first!" Sasuke ordered his daughter.

"Well now," Kashin Koji proudly spoke, "look who it is… Naruto Uzumaki…"

Naruto suddenly had a horrible feeling gut, and it showed. He breathed in deeply, and lost his composure slightly as he left Kurama's Chakra Mode. "Who are you?"

"You know who I am… You can feel it inside you… You can sense it."

"It doesn't matter who you are," Sasuke told him. "What does matter is this battle, one that you are not going to win."

"Ahh… Sasuke Uchiha," Kashin Koji replied to him. "You've always been so dreadfully serious." He then looked at Sarada. "I thought having a daughter like Sarada-chan would let your heart open up a little."

"Don't speak about my daughter," Sasuke warned him as he pointed his katana at him.

"Tsk tsk tsk. And Sakura, I thought you would mellow both him and yourself down. It seems like nothing's changed, as if he's never home for you to tame him."

"I would never dream of controlling my husband, you messed-up piece of shit," Sakura poured vitriol into her words, angry that he was talking with her family that way.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through, and Jigen appeared above everyone else. "Kashin Koji, Boro, Codei, Amado, and Grado, stop the talking," Jigen announced, floating gently to the ground, as he arrived from his viewing point. "Hmm, six on nine, I see," he observed his surroundings. "The time for talking has long since passed."

"No it hasn't!" Naruto exclaimed as he got a hold of himself. "Kashin Koji, who are you really?"

Kashin Koji looked at Jigen, who sighed then nodded and added, "Fine, you can use your chakra," before Koji walked towards Naruto.

"You must know who I am. I know you remember."

Naruto stood there, unmoving. He felt the familiar aura, but he was not sure if he was imagining things. _'Impossible,'_ thought Naruto internally. _'No… It can't be.'_

Koji approached until he was in front of Naruto. Sasuke had his katana ready, but Naruto waved him off. "Remove your mask."

"Fine by me," Kashin Koji remarked as he formally bowed, one hand in front of him, one hand behind. "Allow me to re-introduce myself… Naruto-kun…" he said as he removed his mask with one hand.

Naruto was stunned, and unmoving, his eyes and mouth were agape. Sasuke staggered back, and gasps of utter astonishment and disbelief escaped from Sakura and Kakashi.

"In case you don't remember, my name is Jiraiya. And you used to call me 'Pervy Sage' a lot back then."

"But… Pain killed you… Nagato killed you… How are you alive, Perv-?"

Within the same blink of an eye, Jiraiya, his mentor, his teacher, his friend, stabbed him in the chest with his dagger, using the hand hidden behind his back. He then slashed outwards, blade serrating sideways on the way out of Naruto's chest, and struck at Sasuke, who stepped back and parried it with his katana. Naruto, whose mouth was oozing with deep crimson blood, now, took several staggering steps backwards, before collapsing onto a broken half-wall.

"Lord Hokage will heal slowly with the Nine-Tails' chakra, but you guys need to help him to make it quicker," Kakashi shouted in Boruto's direction, as he attacked Kashin Koji to draw him away. Sasuke took on Jigen, as Sakura, Shikadai, and Mitsuki held off the four other Kara members. Boruto rushed towards his dad, pressing on the gaping wound and trying to stop the bleeding. Sarada started to perform the first aid techniques that her mother taught her, while Sumire summoned mini-Nue, and transferred chakra from herself to Naruto, to help with the recovery process of the Nine-Tails.

However, one of the Kara members, Boro, broke away from Shikadai, and lobbed a small high-explosive bomb towards a fallen Naruto. It fell short because he rushed the throw, but it exploded and blew away Boruto, who was closest to it. Even though he blocked and braced for the impact, it still sent him flying just above the crouching Sarada and Sumire, through a wall of a house, and then crashing down through a wooden table that gave way under his sudden weight.

"Dammit! Sumire, take care of Lord Hokage; I'll get to Boruto."

"Get to him quickly!" Sumire nodded as she continued to transfer her chakra into Naruto. She peered over to look at the wound. It was deep and gruesome, and some of his internal organs, bone-hard ribs, and innermost muscles were slashed open by the serrated dagger of Koji. But they were noticeably healing themselves, and the cavities and tears were closing back ever so slowly.

When Sarada reached Boruto, she found him unconscious. She tried to pick him up and carry him, one shoulder over her neck. But as they were about to escape the ruins of the house in which Boruto landed, they were trapped by the same Kara attacker, who aimed his weapon at them. Sarada closed her eyes in surprise and held her hand to shield her eyes. As he fired his gun, she waited for what would happen to them. But nothing did, and as she opened her eyes, the sight terrified her even more than death. Her own father had taken whatever was coming her way instead, and he was down on one knee, with his sword dug into the rubble of the broken wall.

Suddenly, Boro shouted in pain and fell to his knees as he was shot in the back from behind by a water bullet from Sumire. Then, Shikadai had caught him with his shadow paralysis jutsu, making sure he couldn't continue his attack. Sumire, who was holding her kunai, lowered her hand, and then focused back on helping Naruto heal. Sasuke slowly got up, then quickly spun around and extended his sword hand, decapitating Boro in an instant, before leaning on the wall and collapsing and coughing up blood. Sarada held his hand and wrapped his arm over her neck as well, and she summoned her inner strength to help both Boruto and Sasuke out from the ruined house.

As they came out from the hole made by Boruto's impact, they saw Mitsuki and Kakashi to their right. They were combining Mitsuki's Snake Lightning Jutsu and Kakashi's Purple Lightning Jutsu and fired it, resulting in the main yellow body of snake lightning being orbited by the purple lightning in a spiraling helix shape. This attack hit the ground between the two attackers and caused a sudden blinding flash and loud explosion, disorienting them. Taking advantage of this lull, Mitsuki turned around and ran to Sakura, then grabbed both Sasuke and Boruto with his extended, snake-like arms, and laid them before Sakura, who immediately started healing them both at the same time. Kakashi turned his focus to Jigen, and the two locked blades.

Kashin Koji made his way to Naruto and Sumire. Sumire noticed this, and paused the chakra transfer as she raised both her hands, which were shaped as finger guns, and aimed at him. She fired two shots at Kashin Koji, who easily dodged them. Shikadai tried to catch him by surprise with shadow paralysis, but Kashin Koji leapt upwards and avoided the shadow. However, as he landed, Mitsuki landed right beside and kicked at him, forcing him to backstep away.

"Sumire," Shikadai told her, "focus on healing Lord Hokage. We'll hold this guy off."

"Yes I will," Sumire replied as she once again checked Naruto's wound. She observed that it wasn't as deep as it was merely minutes ago, and that it would not take long before the wound would close fully. It was also much safer to move him now, and so Sumire then dragged him behind the half-wall hedge he laid back on, just to make it a bit safer for them. She started to feel dizzy though, and laid back on the same half-wall, gasping for breath.

"Sumire-dear," Nue nudged her with his tiny squeaky voice, "you're running out of chakra!"

"But… I need to help Lord Seventh heal…"

"You don't need to give him just your chakra. I can absorb chakra from my surroundings, and I can disperse or distribute that instead."

Sumire felt dumb for a second. "_I still have to train more with Nue and practice the abilities Nue grant me," _she thought to herself, "_so I can actually remember how and when I can use them." _She quickly nodded to Nue. "Go ahead, do what you can."

At once, the snake transferring chakra from Sumire into Nue was severed, as Nue formed and put together more of its chakra snakes into something that resembled a spiral satellite dish, absorbing what energy it could from the environment, and funneled all of that through itself and into Naruto. Sumire breathed so much easier, and as she rested, she regained more of her chakra. All of a sudden, Sarada landed in front of the half-wall, near Sumire and Naruto, panting and covering a laceration on her shoulder, her Mangekyo Sharingan glowing an eerie shade of red. Sumire saw two Kara attackers approaching them, one of whom she recognized from earlier at the burger restaurant. It was Grado, the one who had chosen to leave Namida alone, and the one who had escaped. She stood up and jumped the half-wall, pulled her kunai back out with one hand, and made a finger gun with the other. She stood by Sarada's side, as Nue continued to pump what chakra it had into Naruto to help facilitate the healing.

"Sarada, are you okay? Do you need chakra?"

"I'm fine," Sarada panted. "I'm more worried about you. You spent a lot of your chakra on Lord Hokage's recovery. Are you sure you can fight?"

"Yes, I can. I'll just make do with what I can."

"So will I."

"I'm guessing the two of you won't surrender," Grado asked.

"Not a chance," Sarada retorted. "In fact, we should be the ones asking you that."

"Just remember that I left your friend alone… I won't even try to condone what my partner tried to do to her."

Sarada nodded. "At least you have some principles."

But now Codeh, the Kara Inner beside him then pointed his weapon at Grado's head. "You've gone soft, Grado. Next time, I'll teach you a lesson about what should happen to softies in this world."

"No need for that. Our mission isn't over yet. We still have to destroy the system that crushes the ordinary folk and leaves the few rich people in power… the ninja." Grado charged at Sarada. She sidestepped to her right and countered his moves with her Sharingan and her shuriken. Sarada's attacker drove her away from Sumire, separating them from each other, while the Codeh aimed his unique weapon, a long, brown and black weapon with a circular hole at the end, and which had a strap slung over his neck and shoulder. It was a weapon that Sumire had never seen before. Sumire quickly formed her finger gun, supported it with the arm holding the kunai, and fired two water bullets in quick succession before flipping backwards over the half-wall. She saw several metal projectiles go over the half-wall just above her head, and then felt some pieces of the half-wall pelting her skin as well. Sumire rushed to another opening in her low wall, and then peeked over just a bit to see where her attacker had gone, but he had disappeared. Sumire kept scanning for him when he rose up from a low hedge on the opposite side of the street and shot at her, barely missing the top of her hair. Sumire ducked quickly, then stood back up just as fast and exchanged fire with her water bullets. She repeated this process, while making sure to vary her positions along her wall, so as to be unpredictable and make it much harder to be pinned down or sniped away by her attacker. Her attacker quickly copied her tactic once he realized what she was doing.

Meanwhile, Sarada ran across the crumbling roofs of burning and ruined houses, jumping over the alleyways onto other buildings, and looking to evade the Kara agent who was chasing after her. She was desperately trying to think of a way to lose him. The idea of using Amaterasu flashed through her mind for a split-second, but she decided against it just as quickly. _"It'll drain my chakra too quickly," _she thought to herself as she leapt the street-wide gap across two houses,_ "and it'll also leave me vulnerable to counterattacks if any other Kara members are nearby."_

As she passed by flowerpots full of red, orange, and yellow flowers on a windowsill, she remembered a jutsu that she had learned from Lord Sixth, Kakashi-sensei himself, about a month prior.

_"__Wow… Where did you learn this jutsu?" She asked Kakashi._

_"__I learned it from my best friend back then, Obito Uchiha. You're actually related to him. Anyway, he was a hero of the Third Great Shinobi War. He sacrificed himself to save me, and gave me his own Sharingan when my own eye was slashed open."_

_"__But I thought he was Lord Seventh's enemy in the Fourth Great Shinobi War?"_

_ "__Well yes, though he did fight against us in the Fourth Great Shinobi War, we made peace near the very end, and he fought with us against Kaguya. He sacrificed himself again… to save me and other people again…"_

_Sarada was amazed by the stories Kakashi told her about her relative, about the times they worked as a team during their childhood, times they fought, and the world was back then, especially during the Third and Fourth Great Ninja Wars. "By the way you described him, he seemed like a great man. I want to be like him too."_

_Kakashi chuckled at her statement. "You actually do remind me of him a bit. You have that determination to keep getting better. And you realized early on that allies and friends do matter so much in life. Not to mention that you both share the same dream of being Hokage, and the first Uchiha to hold that title as well. Though your father Sasuke is practically co-Hokage with Lord Seventh, so you exactly won't be the first Uchiha. Still, keep working hard for your goal, and eventually, you'll become a worthy candidate to be the next Hokage."_

Sarada remembered the jutsu clearly, but she needed the right opportunity to use it. She spotted a corner of an abandoned apartment building, one that had been damaged by explosives from the attackers, and decided that that would be the right place for a surprise counterattack. She ran around a corner and prepared the necessary hand seals. When her attacker ran around the same corner, she unleashed her attack.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" She threw multiple shuriken, which all caught fire, towards Grado. He blocked most of them, but two of the shuriken stuck to his clothes, which caught fire, and one hit the roof he was standing on, breaking through the weakened area and starting a small blaze in the house below them.

Instinctively, the Kara Inner ripped the shuriken off his cloak, then dropped down and rolled to try and extinguish the fire spreading on his clothes. But in doing this, he caused the weakened roof below him to collapse under the stress of his weight, and he almost fell down into the house, where the small fire was spreading and becoming a blaze.

Sarada looked at her helpless foe. She realized she could finish him off right then and there. She could knock him into the inferno below him. But as they made eye contact, she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. She remembered Lord Seventh telling her that he never once killed an enemy, as far as he remembered at least, and that he preferred to talk them out of it and help them genuinely change. _"If I really want to become Hokage,"_ she told herself, _"I'd have to follow Lord Seventh's path."_

She also remembered that he had shown mercy to Namida, even while his own partner and his other teammate in Kara criticized and chewed into him for doing so. "You showed kindness to my friend Namida," she justified to Grado, "and so I'll show kindness to you too. But make sure you leave Konoha now, or else others may not show you the same kindness."

Grado pulled himself up from the failing roof and panted against the outside wall of the second floor. "Damn… I would have wanted to destroy the ninja way… and change the status quo tonight… to help the people still being crushed… under the weight of the poverty and oppression… that you rich people and you ninja both cause and ignore… but I'll help that cause better if I'm still alive…"

"I'll accept that… But maybe the way you're fighting for that right ideal is wrong…" Sarada, electing not to finish him off, rushed back to assist Sumire, Mitsuki, and whoever else needed help, while Grado ran further south to leave the city.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Codeh, Sumire's attacker, was becoming more and more impatient by the second, as he was being held up by, in his opinion, a little worthless girl. He needed to be the one to kill the Seventh Hokage and extract the Nine-Tails and its chakra from him, he thought. That way, he could rise in rank to become Jigen's right hand man, and to prove he was Kashin Koji's equal, or even superior. And of course, his personal goal of making the Tailed-Beasts his slaves, which in his mind could lead him to providing advancements in energy production and military weapons, as well as money and fame. Inspired by this, he began searching once again for the little purple kunoichi who was keeping him from his much-awaited destiny.

Sumire was still locked in a lethal long-range duel with her enemy. She once again moved to another position to keep him guessing. She then scanned the surrounding field for any sign of the Kara member. Nothing. She then sighed and lay back down against the half-wall. She looked over to Nue and Lord Hokage, who were about 10 meters away. His wound had almost closed on the outside, but she was sure the internal lacerations would take more time.

She started thinking of how she could break the stalemate between her and her attacker. A prolonged sniper battle would favor her attacker, as would a frontal charge by her, which would basically count as suicide.

"Think Sumire!" She talked to herself, trying to run scenarios in her mind and their outcomes. "What should I do… what would Wasabi and Namida, or Shikadai and Ryogi, or Mitsuki do? What would Sarada do? What would Boruto do?"

_'__Wasabi would probably go for a zigzag Banzai Charge,' _Sumire analyzed in her head_, 'which in this case would be suicidal, though with her speed and agility, she would be so hard to hit so it would actually work for her. Namida would probably try to root out her attacker with her super sound wave attacks. By now, Shikadai and Ryogi would likely have already come up with some fancy tactics and awesome battle strategies, and use their shadow paralysis and ice traps to their advantage.'_

_'__Mitsuki could use his extendable arms and electric jutsus to surprise and literally shock his opponent,' she continued to come up with ideas. 'Either that, or he'll use his sage mode. Sarada would probably use her Sharingan to identify where her enemy was. She'll then also use her excellent fire style and shuriken jutsus. As for Boruto, he would usually use his seven or so shadow clones to confuse the enemy as to which one of them was the real Boruto. He could also use his wind style and lightning style jutsus, or the beginner water jutsus I had started teaching him and helping him out with, albeit that's unlikely because he only started learning that two weeks ago. There's also the Karma seal…'_

"Wait!" Sumire told herself to stop thinking too much. "Rewind… WAIT, THAT'S IT!"

Codeh was still looking for his foe when he finally saw violet hair rise above the half-wall, towards the rightmost end. The top half of her face was visible, as she looked for where he was. He slowly aimed his weapon at her head, making sure to account for the distance between them and making the appropriate adjustments. After a few seconds, he fired his weapon. Immediately afterwards, the white head burst into crimson, with the same color staining the wall of the house behind her, as her body collapsed backwards and her shattered head dipped below the low wall.

"YES!" The Kara Inner exclaimed, jumping up onto the low hedge wall from his position and standing up to try and take a better look at his fallen foe. He celebrated when he saw the desired bloodstains, along with the metal round that had embedded itself in the wall. "I GOTCHU BITCH! AND FUCK YOU FOR WASTING MY TIME, YOU WORTHLESS CUNT! HAHAHA!"

Unbeknownst to the sadistic Codeh, the one he shot had actually dissipated into a small puddle of water upon impact with the ground; it was only a water clone. Meanwhile, a wisp of violet hair rose up from the leftmost end of the low wall, out of the Kara member's field of vision. Sumire, the real Sumire, aimed carefully and fired five water bullets in quick succession. The first one hit her target in the middle of the groin, while the other four landed in his lower torso, with one of them nicking his spine, and another one piercing straight through his stomach. The attacker screamed in agony and fell down backwards from the low wooden hedge where he had been standing, his voice wailing and echoing.

"No," Sumire calmly deadpanned as she rose up and walked towards him. "I got you." Listening to herself say those words actually unnerved her a little bit, since she sounded so much like her former Shigaraki alter ego, but she shook it off.

"Nue, come here first," she commanded Nue, who jumped the low wall beside Naruto and promptly ran to her. Sumire looked at her enemy, Codeh, who was crumpled against the wall and groaning in severe pain. She grabbed his dropped weapon from him, as well as what looked to be the containers of the projectiles that it fired. It was quite heavy and long, but she managed to lift the unique weapon. It was a curious machine, one that needed no chakra to use. Sumire then turned to Nue. "Drain him of his chakra. Completely."

Nue looked at her, the surprise evident in its eyes and facial expression. It had been given this command before, but never with the "completely" part. In the past, she had always allowed her victims enough chakra for them to fully recover. Sumire looked at Nue and nodded in confirmation to emphasize the order.

"NUE!" The little creature happily obliged as it drained the entirety of his chakra. The man trembled and tried in vain to resist. His body experienced spasms and convulsions from the pain, desperation, and despair that he was feeling. But once Nue was finished with him, the man was a husk of his former self, with all of his chakra and energy drained out from him. He was now doomed to die a slow and painful death.

"Go back to Lord Seventh," Sumire ordered Nue, "and make sure he fully recovers. Then come back to me as soon as possible, alright?"

"Nue! Nue!" Nue complied and ran back to Naruto, and in the meantime Sumire observed the weapon she had retrieved. She tried copying how she had seen him using it a while ago.

"I'm guessing you hold it this way… Alright, so left hand on the long end towards the end, and right hand on this downward extension… Ughhh this hurts my shoulder… I shouldn't lean into it too much… Hmm, what's this floppy part? What happens when I pull this back?"

The moment she pulled back on what happened to be the trigger, a huge bang came from the weapon and startled her so much that she yelped loudly. It also powerfully kicked back on her shoulder, and afterwards it felt really sore when she moved it. However, as she was about to interrogate her captive about his weapon before his inevitable death from total chakra loss, she saw that the entire head of Codeh had been blown wide open, and that his brain and a whole lot of blood was splattered onto the wall behind him. Both of the eyes were rolling away from the horrific scene, and his nose and ears were dangling from the stump of his head that remained. Sumire realized what had happened, and looked away in horror and disgust from the gory scene that she had accidentally caused.

* * *

**_So, are you guys still there? I hope you liked the chapter! And the reveals! Kashin Koji is J****** confirmed, loljoke XD_**

**_There will be more backstory over what Kiba did, and more chapters concerned with the Kara members (like Grado, Amado, Koji, Delta) in the future! What are they really fighting for?_**

**_In the comments, you guys can answer: What did you think about..._**

**_1) Delta, with one hand a sickle, and the other hand a hammer... *gasp* mwahahaha ;) =O_**

**_2) Kashin Koji being Jiraiya =O_**

**_3) The return of the PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU! Kakashi taught it to Sarada hehee ^_^_**

**_4) Sarada trying to emulate her idol Naruto? ;)_**

**_5) Sumire's possible new weapon? And the damage it did to poor Codeh hahaha XD_**

**_Anyway, Chapter 6, "The Turning of the Tide", will be out on Sunday/after the next Boruto episode premiers ^_^_**


	6. The Turning of The Tide

**_Hello again everyone! I'm back with another chapter!_**

**_NOTE: This series might transition to uploading a new chapter twice a week instead of thrice a week, as suggested by Mira! ^_^_**

**_Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! And make sure to leave reviews, kudos, likes, or whatnot! They all help =D_**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Turning of the Tide**

Unwilling to even think about what she had just done by complete accident, Sumire decided to investigate this unique weapon later on, when things would go back to normal, and either by herself or with her friends. She preferred not to study it anywhere near Katasuke, since she suspected that he would either try to mass produce it as a scientific ninja weapon, or leak the design and manufacturing process of the weapon to others, as he was extremely prone to do so even when he was not under genjutsu.

As she turned around, she saw Nue making its way to her, and Lord Hokage standing up and supporting himself on the low wall, which she realized meant that Lord Hokage's recovery was finally complete. To her left, she sensed movement and immediately tensed up, but instead of another Kara attacker, it was Sarada who landed next to her.

"Sarada! You drove off your attacker?" Sumire asked her, as Nue gave Sarada some of its excess chakra.

"Yes Sumire! More importantly, how are you?" Sarada replied with her own question, concerned for Sumire's wellbeing. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine… Much more than what can be said about this guy," Sumire told her as she pointed to the remains of Codeh.

Sarada's eyes followed where she pointed, and immediately looked away in disgust. "Ohh fuck… What… what happened to him?"

"Well, the five water bullets and the complete chakra drain, that's me. I outsmarted him in a sniper battle. Then his head… umm… I can explain…?"

"Sarada, Sumire, are you two okay?" Naruto asked as he quickly approached them, only to see the carnage of the corpse beside the two. "Umm… Shit. Why is his head is split open?"

"Lord Seventh, I… I swear it was an accident. I was trying out his weapon when that happened," Sumire admitted as she wore the strap of her new discovery over her shoulder and put the weapon on her back.

"Lord Hokage, she didn't do this intentionally," Sarada vouched emphatically for Sumire in front of Naruto. "We both know Sumire's not the type to do something that… horrific. Not on purpose, at least."

"Don't worry about that," Naruto waved it off as insignificant. "It's not really a problem right now. We need to focus now on driving off Kara from the village."

Sarada and Sumire noticed the ongoing battles in the distance. Shikadai and Mitsuki were working together against Kashin Koji, but they weren't doing so well by the looks of it. Both Kashin Koji and Mitsuki had activated their respective Sage Modes, while Shikadai was constantly being targeted by Kashin Koji and was badly outmatched, with Mitsuki having to divert his attention to keep Shikadai from being killed. Kakashi was still dueling with Jigen, and it looked like it was a close one, with neither of them giving any ground. In the distance, they saw that Boruto had regained consciousness, and was helping Sakura treat Sasuke's wounds. Sakura's hand looked to be inside Sasuke's torso, trying to remove the projectiles still lodged inside him.

"I think I'll go unleash Kurama," Naruto told them as he reentered Kurama's Chakra Mode. "Kurama, don't fail me now."

_"__Naruto, you idiot!" Kurama replied from inside him, "You're the one who's more likely to embarrass me. Don't you dare die on me!"_ Naruto smirked, shook his head, and ran to assist Kakashi and battle Jigen.

"Nue," Sumire asked after seeing Naruto and Kurama work together, "Grow as large as you can with the chakra you have right now."

Nue nodded, and from mini-Nue who can stand on Sumire's shoulders without much trouble, it expanded to the size of a liger, and it was big enough for Sumire and two other people can ride on. It was nowhere near as large as when they attacked Konoha years ago, but it would suffice.

Sumire's artificial summoning growled in a cute way, rubbing its mane against Sumire. Its canine teeth were much more visible, and its face more ferocious. Sarada had never seen Nue this large, and up close at that. She was intimidated at first, but the more she observed the way it acted towards Sumire, the more comfortable she felt with it. Sumire jumped on its back, and offered a hand to Sarada, who accepted it and also mounted Nue. It roared loudly and sprinted to help Mitsuki and Shikadai, who were barely holding on against Kashin Koji. Sarada had to grip tightly around Sumire's waist to avoid falling off.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Mitsuki was getting extremely fatigued. His Sage Mode was costing him a lot of chakra, and he couldn't even focus all his attention on Kashin Koji, as Shikadai was being chased around and targeted. Mitsuki charged forward and tackled Kashin Koji, allowing Shikadai some time to recover and get away. However, Mitsuki was thrown over Koji's head in an expert maneuver, and Mitsuki crashed through the glass windows of a house and was showered with sharp broken shards raining down all around him. With that, Koji continued his one-sided assault on Shikadai, who had already been badly wounded on his left arm by a slashing attack of Kashin Koji that was too fast to dodge. Shikadai kept trying to catch him with shadow paralysis, to no avail. Shikadai then fell again, as his right leg was struck just above the knee by a bullet from Koji's steely revolver pistol. He felt a gaping rupture in his quadriceps tendon, since the bullet tore through, impacting his femur and kneecap, and fragmenting into several smaller pieces that did additional damage to the surrounding structure of his knee. He could barely put any weight on it, much less stand or walk on it, and so he raised his right hand in a sign of surrender.

"Well," Koji told him, "I have you immobilized. But just to make sure… Sage Art: Toad Oil Bomb!"

A mass of brownish oil came out from Koji's mouth and landed around Shikadai. The oil was extremely sticky and viscous, and Shikadai couldn't move anywhere since he was stuck waist deep in the oil. The one saving grace for Shikadai was that the thick oil plugged his wounded knee and stopped the bleeding, and somewhat numbed him to the pain as well.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Mitsuki arrived and tried to break through the oily trap. "Wind Style: Wind Scythe!"

Neither attack had any effect. "I think you need water to make the oil less viscous and easier to remove," Shikadai told him.

"You are correct," Koji replied to him, clapping. "I see you are indeed the son of Shikamaru; same looks, same intellect, and same jutsus. Who's your mother?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Just asking. I may have known her from years past. Oh, and if you don't answer my questions truthfully, or if your friend tries to attack me, I'll burn you alive." With that, he summoned a round flame bullet, but held it in place. Mitsuki grit his teeth, but couldn't do anything about it, unless he wanted Shikadai to die.

"…My mom is Temari Nara."

Koji observed his eyes, as well as his attitude, and smirked. "She was a fine woman back then, and I'm sure she's even better now… not to mention much curvier now."

"Don't you dare talk about my mother-"

"You're not in any position to make demands, boy. Now stop whining about it. If you do, maybe I'll go easy on your mother. But I will make her moan my name out loud, if you know what I mean."

"Fuck you," Shikadai cursed as his blood started to boil over.

In the past, Mitsuki had heard some sexual innuendos from Wasabi, Namida, Inojin, and Shikadai. Truthfully, they were still unclear and vague to him, and he did not exactly understand what they truly meant. But this time, he finally connected the dots. "So this is why they called you 'the Pervert Sage' as Jiraiya, the former mentor of Lord Hokage."

"That's not important, Mitsuki!" Shikadai turned to Mitsuki. "Can you break the ground below me?"

"No he can't," Koji answered for him, as he approached the oil with the flame bullet still in his hand. "Next question: Who's your best friend? My guess would be Boruto-kun, but if you have a surprise answer for me, I would listen."

Shikadai stared at the fire bullet, which was spinning and rotating just above Koji's hand. He wondered if it would be better if he sacrificed himself and went up in flames. That way, Mitsuki could attack Koji outright without having to care about him. That being said, Shikadai noticed that Kashin Koji didn't appear tired at all, while Mitsuki was still noticeably fatigued and trying to catch his breath. He internally cursed himself for being the weak link and causing Mitsuki's Sage Mode Transformation to be of little use offensively. He looked around for any help, and saw Sarada being chased around, and Kakashi holding off Jigen. He last saw Lord Hokage being dragged behind the low wall where Sumire was now pinned down in a high-stakes sniper battle, and in the distance he saw Boruto and Sakura trying to heal Sasuke. In any case, he realized that the best thing he could do was buy as much time as he could, either for Mitsuki to recover and attack, and for anyone else who could help to get there.

"Are you going to answer me, or should I let this flame consume you?"

"Fine… Yes, Boruto is my closest friend, and he has been for a long time. Though, I also have someone else I consider to be another one of my closest friends, and in other ways my brother. His name is Ryogi. My parents have practically adopted him, and he sleeps in the room across the hallway from me. We play Shogi and Game of the Generals and our favorite series of video games, and we share each others' secrets…"

As he exited his Sage Mode to conserve more chakra, Mitsuki was puzzled as to why Shikadai was sharing that much information unnecessarily, and why Kashin Koji, or formerly Jiraiya, was listening intently. Suddenly, it came to him that Shikadai was delaying Koji to give Mitsuki some much-needed time to recover, and probably trying to lull him to a false sense of safety. It was a very smart move, and Mitsuki definitely owed Shikadai for it.

"I'm trying to integrate him into my group of friends now, actually."

"Is that right?" Koji asked him, who was also resting up his chakra. Even though he didn't look like it, he had gotten somewhat tired from having to fend off Mitsuki, who was in sage mode as well, all while trying to pick off and eliminate the weaker Shikadai. "Who are in this group of yours? Maybe I'll spare them."

"In the group, there's Boruto, who's sort of the leader or nucleus of the group, then Sarada, whose goal is to become the next Hokage-"

A loud booming sound, followed by obnoxious yelling and vulgar cheering, startled and interrupted him.

"Ah, that must have been Codeh," Koji told him. "No need to worry, he probably just finished off one of your friends, or maybe even Naruto himself."

Shikadai clenched his teeth when Kashin Koji told him that, but he continued to buy more time. He prayed that Sarada, Sumire, the Hokage, and everyone else, weren't hurt. "So… Back to the topic, there's Mitsuki over here to my left as well…"

"Umm… hmm…" Mitsuki was unsure about how to play along with Shikadai's plan to allow them more time, so he just waved awkwardly to Kashin Koji. "Hello there… Nice to meet you?"

Kashin Koji stared at him in confusion, then laughed. "Are you sure you're the spawn of Orochimaru? You don't act one bit like him… Still, tell him I said hi."

"I… I will…"

"Anyway," Shikadai picked up to continue his delaying tactic, "after them, there's me, Ryogi, Inojin, Himawari, who's the daughter of Lord Seventh and Hinata, and Chocho… then Metal Lee, Iwabe, and Denki, and then lastly, Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida."

"That's a big group of friends," Koji mused. "You guys really had it lucky, living in a peaceful world, where none of your friends died during missions or wars." Another loud bang was heard.

"In any case," Koji continued without much care to the abrupt sound, which he had concluded was Codeh finishing off another Konoha defender, or maybe even Naruto. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Shikadai paused at the question, and his face reddened even further. But it was to keep up with the ruse of buying time for everyone, so he answered the question. "Not quite yet, though I'm interested in someone. She's from the Hidden Sand Village, and her name is Yodo. She's an expert in Wind and Sound style."

"Hmm… Very similar to your mother, I take it?"

"You could say that. Though, Yodo has much more… modern tastes and attitudes, with regards to relationships, music and such. She's not really held back by the old customs and traditions."

Koji chuckled, smirking as he guessed what that meant. "So you guys have fucked already?"

Before Shikadai could even reply to that assumption, there was a loud roar that pieced the air, and as they looked in the direction of the roar, Shikadai saw Sarada and Sumire riding a much larger and fiercer-looking version of Nue toward them. He breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't have to stall for much longer, nor answer the ridiculous questions of Koji anymore.

"Are we late to the party?" Sarada asked as she, Sumire, and Nue arrived. Sumire leapt off Nue, and Sarada followed, albeit more carefully.

"My, my, the result of the Gozu Tennou experiment," Koji remarked and applauded at Nue, taking his attention off of the immobilized Shikadai and the fatigued Mitsuki. "I never thought I'd get to see such a marvelous beast… And you girl, the one with purple hair," he looked at Sumire as if he recognized her. "I think I've seen you before, from when you were little… You must be Tanuki's daughter?"

"How do you know my father?"

"When your family went into exile, you moved around quite a lot. If I remember correctly, you lived in Tani with all its rivers and valleys, among all the artisans of Takumi, and Ame with its perpetual rain… your father told me everything."

"I only remember my time in Ame," Sumire replied. "I was too young to remember the other two."

"Sumire," Sarada interrupted as she held Sumire's shoulder. "I don't think talking to him is a good idea-"

"Nonsense," Koji cut Sarada off. "Or maybe you'd rather I your friend over here? Because if she doesn't talk to me, I will do just that."

Sarada clenched her fist, but Sumire held Sarada's hand, the one on her own shoulder. "Don't worry about it. At least for now, we're talking and not fighting." Sumire then whispered quietly in Sarada's ear, "We need to buy us more time."

"This one has good sense," Koji observed and smirked. "For a second there, you sounded like Naruto when he was much younger, always the talker and peacemaker. I would know, because I was his sensei for years."

"I caught that your name was Sumire?" Koji continued. "It's a beautiful name, one that definitely matches you. In any case, I met your father in Ame, when he was asking for financial and technical support with his Gozu Tennou experiment. It was just after his wife, your mother, died, and he had become more and more desperate to complete his life's work. I do remember seeing him leave you out in the wilderness, repeatedly at that, and you managed to survive and return every time. He tried to mold you into a living weapon, the carrier of the Gozu Tennou and the grim fate of Konoha's destruction. Looks like he succeeded there."

Sumire looked at him blankly. She remembered those times well; they were etched and carved into her mind. She recalled the times when her father was drunk, on alcohol and on anger. He used to strike her a lot. He knocked her baby teeth out, and he broke bones in her face, her fingers, her arms, and her ribs, whenever she showed what he deemed as unnecessary emotions, which were mostly happiness and sadness. He used to berate her for being useless around the house, for being a weak girl and not a strong boy. He used to drag her by her wrist at night, walk kilometers away from their house, and then literally kick her down by the wayside as he ran back in the darkness to his house. She had to go back there all by herself, in the unending rain and dark streets of Ame.

A kind old lady, who also had long purple hair and was dressed in a fashionable kimono, noticed what happened and took her in, letting her sleep comfortably in one of the tall iron towers. Sumire would stay there with the woman who took care of her, fed her, clothed her properly, and showed her kindness and compassion. She would eventually become almost like her second mother. But then her dad would come and take her away under the pretense of remorse, only to repeat the process every week. Whenever she did return to her father's house, she endured even more punishment, humiliation, sickness, and neglect.

Sumire remembered that it had become such a routine, that her father would abandon her by the curb if she had failed any of his expectations, or if he simply wanted to inflict pain on his own daughter, that every night the old lady would literally wait by the entrance steps of her tower to see if she would be left behind that night. However, once Tanuki saw that the old lady had been softening Sumire's heart, and in the process undoing his plans of basically removing all sense of emotion, love, regret, and compassion from Sumire, he took Sumire and left Ame for good, so that she would not be "negatively influenced" by the old lady's love and care.

To Sumire, it was as if her father never really wanted her, nor did he ever truly love her. He looked at her and thought of her as his abject failure, his biggest regret, and his worst sin.

There were times when she thought about not going back home, of living with the kind old lady in Ame, or even running away to another village and living by herself. But she never did. And it was because she didn't run away, and because she chose endure everything, that she learned how to deceive, how to fight, how to run, how to hide her emotion and her pain and her existence, and how to survive.

And she did get Nue because of her father, albeit in the cruelest manner possible, as her father ordered her to use Nue to carry out the suicide mission he had given her.

However, her father neglected to teach her the most basic things. He never taught her how to relate to others, how to laugh, how to feel, how to forgive and empathize, how to care, how to love, and how to truly live. It was because of the things he neglected to teach her, that she could not bring herself to forgive her father, ever.

"You're wrong," Sumire replied. "My father failed, both in his experiment, and in raising me. The Gozu Tennou is broken, and I don't consider him as my father. I shed my Shigaraki name a long time ago. My name… my real name is Sumire Kakei!"

"But he did not. You are still here, and so is the Nue. And no matter how much you try, you will never escape your past, not to mention your destined future. Run from it, hide from it, and yet your destiny will still arrive and happen. Take it from me."

Sumire looked at the ground below her feet, a depressed, troubled, conflicted expression written all over her face.

"Sumi…" Sarada gently gripped her close friend's shoulder, making sure that Sumire was still mentally there with her. "I still don't know a lot of details about your past, but don't you worry. You're one of my best friends, and I'll be here to listen to you as you tell me your story. How about later this week, even before your birthday, we go out for a cup of our favorite teas? It could be just the two of us, or you can bring Wasabi and Namida again, whatever you want. You can tell me more of your story then."

Sumire looked Sarada in the eyes, and slowly the bitterness and anger faded away, only to be replaced by determination, contentment, and hope. "I'll take you up on that offer," Sumire smiled when she replied to Sarada. "And yes, we'll bring both Wasabi and Namida along. You know that they'd love to have another date again."

Koji scoffed derisively. "Unfortunately for you and your plans, there will be no tomorrow for you lot. Once I am finished with you, I will take Nue, and I will use him to help destroy the other ninja nations, as Tanuki had always intended. If you won't fulfill his wish, I will."

"Over my dead body," Sumire coldly replied as she turned her attention once again to him, drawing out her kunai and aiming directly between his eyes. "You will never get your hands on Nue. Nor will you hurt anyone else here."

Kashin Koji extended his arm and showed the flame bullet, still rotating in his hand over the very flammable oil. "I still don't think you know who I am. I am Kashin Koji, formerly Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, and the old Sensei of your Lord Hokage himself. What could you possibly do against me?"

Sumire exhaled. "Well, you definitely don't know who I am. I am Sumire Kakei, formerly Shigaraki… And I can do this."

Without warning, Sumire adjusted her aim slightly and shot a concentrated water bullet out from her kunai. The water bullet hit the fire bullet and turned it into harmless steam.

As soon as Koji realized what had happened, Sarada leapt at him and attacked him with her kunai. Mitsuki also sent wind scythes in his direction. Koji leapt backwards and rotated his body, narrowly dodging both attacks at the same time.

Sumire turned to Shikadai and weaved a set of signs. "Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!" A huge cascade of water flowed down from Sumire's hands and fell onto the sticky oil surrounding Shikadai. At first, it made the oil less viscous and more slippery, but the water quickly sunk down beneath the oil, and Shikadai was still not able to move much. Shikadai tried to get his feet free from the trap, but slipped due to the water underneath the oil and fell down on his back. Now, his entire back and his head were stuck to the oil. Just then, they heard shouts close by, and they saw Himawari and Inojin rushing by them. The two of them, as well as Hinata who was running right behind them, joined Sarada and Mitsuki holding Kashin Koji at bay. Ryogi stopped to help Sumire get Shikadai out from the sticky oil.

"Are we late?" Ryogi asked the two of them.

"Not too late," Sumire replied. "Just in the nick of time actually."

"It looks like we need more water," Shikadai observed. "Wait, what happens if we try to freeze the oil? Will it be easier to break?"

"I'll just as likely freeze you," Ryogi told him.

Sumire thought of a plan. "I think we need more water to lessen the viscosity, and then we need someone to pull you out from the oil."

"If someone tries to pull me out, they'll probably slip and get stuck here too."

"Not if that someone has cable-like arms," Sumire pointed out as she looked at Mitsuki. "Or Nue and his tails."

"I guess we have to give it a shot," Ryogi added, looking at Shikadai in his literally sticky situation. "It's better than me having to freeze you along with the oil and water."

"Mitsuki! We need you here now!" Sumire shouted as she repeated her previous jutsu and pulled out another great deluge of water. Mitsuki turned to them and left Koji to Sarada, Inojin, Himawari, and Hinata. He landed alongside Ryogi and Nue.

"We'll need you two to pull Shikadai from the oil once the viscosity is low enough," Ryogi told the two artificial beings.

"Okay," Mitsuki replied as he extended both his arms and wrapped them around Shikadai's neck and shoulders to support him.

"Nue!" Nue wrapped his white tail around Shikadai's back to support him. Both gradually increased the force on their pulling, and slowly they were able to lift Shikadai back to his original upright position. Now Sumire focused her downpour on the area surrounding Shikadai's feet, and Mitsuki adjusted the position of his arms and wrapped them both under Shikadai's shoulders. Nue did the same to provide double the force needed to free Shikadai from the sticky trap.

Suddenly, they heard a startling explosion behind them, and they saw Himawari, Inojin, and Hinata all being blown back and knocked down by a blast. They also noticed that Koji was looking at them now, not at Sarada who was in directly in front of him. Within the same second he appeared directly in front of them.

"Your efforts are all in vain." Koji formed another flame bullet in his hand and immediately fired it at the oil, only for it to be kicked to the side in the nick of time by a hard-charging Sarada.

Her Mangekyo Sharingan was glowing bright red, contrasting with the black cyclical pattern inside. _"If only I could use my Fire or Lightning Style Jutsus,"_ Sarada internally told herself in that moment, _"I could fight this guy better. But I might cause a stray spark or ember to land on the oil and make it catch fire, so I won't take that chance."_ Sarada jumped upwards and quickly turned around in mid-air, cocking back her fist. "SHANNAROOO!" Sarada screamed, as she descended onto Koji with a massive punch. However, Kashin Koji sidestepped, and Sarada formed a huge crater in the ground with her punch. Koji formed a rasengan in his hand and lunged into Sarada, driving it deep into her chest and knocking her back into a wall, which cracked and gave way around Sarada.

Koji turned his attention to Shikadai once again. He fired one last flame bullet into the oil, which immediately ignited into a blazing inferno. Sumire tried to put it out with her water, but the oil merely floated to the top of the deluge and kept burning on the surface of the water. Shikadai screamed in agony, his lower legs being burned, and the heat and smoke preventing him from breathing. Even Mitsuki felt the heat on his arms, as the flames nearly reached his shoulder level. Smiling maliciously, Koji looked at the despair he had created, before he turned his attention to Sarada, who was still lying against the cratered wall she was flung to.

"Mitsuki! Nue!" Ryogi begged him, "Pull him out of there now!"

"We're trying!" Mitsuki replied with a hint of desperation in his voice, as he tugged up on Shikadai's shoulders. Shikadai budged upwards a bit, and his body was free all the way to his ankles. But his feet were still stuck in the burning oil. Shikadai's pants had caught fire as well, so Sumire refocused her downpour to make Shikadai's clothes wet and damp enough to prevent major burning. Shikadai's screams began to fade in volume, while his strained coughing took over, as he started to suffocate in the thick, noxious, poisonous smoke of the burning oil beneath him. He finally lurched forward, his head down and his body limp, only standing because of Mitsuki and Nue supporting him upright.

"Nue, Mitsuki," Sumire angrily pointed out, "I don't care if you break his legs or his ankles. Just get him out of there now!"

Mitsuki listened to her and nodded. Shikadai's life depended on how quickly he got him out of there. Mitsuki gave one great tug and finally pulled Shikadai from the blaze, although it was accompanied by several popping noises that were likely his ankles breaking or his knees dislocating.

Once Shikadai landed on the ground, Ryogi pulled off Shikadai shoes, socks, and pants. Shikadai's feet were not that heavily burned, as the fire had spread upwards and not downwards through the oil and water. However, because of that, his ankles and lower legs were badly burnt and charred. His thighs were mildly scorched and singed, and the skin beginning to peel off. Ryogi quickly weaved signs corresponding with his ice style.

"Ryogi," Sumire asked him, interrupting his focus, "take care of Shikadai. We'll go help Sarada and the others out."

Ryogi nodded. "Of course. Be careful, you guys…"

Sumire turned to Nue. "Nue, please stay here and provide Ryogi whatever assistance he needs, okay?"

"NUE!"

Sumire and Mitsuki rushed to assist Sarada, Himawari, Inojin, and Hinata. Meanwhile, Ryogi resumed his jutsu. "Ice Style: Frozen Capture!" Thick ice came from Ryogi's hands and wrapped around Shikadai, heavily on the lower legs and lightly on the upper legs and the feet. "That should delay the skin from dying, and numb the pain as well."

Shikadai kept coughing, and Ryogi rolled him over onto his back to make sure Shikadai didn't choke.

"You'll be alright Shikadai… Just keep breathing… Don't you dare die on me, and not on dad and mom, and especially not on Yodo. She'll definitely kill me if I let you die."

*******XXXXXXX*******

"You're strong for such a young age," Koji mused as he slowly approached a barely-conscious Sarada, another rasengan forming in his hands. "But without your friends, you're not much. Not anything I can't handle, for sure."

Sarada tried to raise her hands, but her strength failed her. Her eyes ached terribly, and she was having lots of difficulty seeing, even with her glasses still more or less intact. In fact, Koji was a blur to her, and he was in right front of her.

"No matter, the Uchiha line will end tonight, as will all of Konoha… And in the next few days, the whole ninja world…" With that, Kashin Koji drove a second rasengan into her chest. Sarada's head fell forward and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her glasses began to slip down her face, but she lifted her head in time to face her attacker one last time, blood starting to flow from her mouth and nose.

"…Is that… all you got?" Sarada smirked and laid her head against the wall, her breathing labored, and her wheezing filled with pain and agony.

Incensed, Koji formed a third rasengan, but as he arched back to deliver the killing blow, his hand was caught. He turned around and saw Mitsuki with his extended snake arms wrapping around his wrist.

"Lightning Style: Snake Lightning." A yellow stream of electricity flowed through the snake arms, and Koji was electrocuted. As Koji was trapped and shaking due to the electricity, Sumire landed in front of Sarada, and aimed her kunai at him.

"Water Style: Water Spirit Wave." A water bullet burst out from her finger, and it hit Koji in the chest. As the water bullet impacted Koji, it interacted with the strong electric current passing through him, and caused a small explosion sending him flying. He landed on his back and rolled backwards to his knees. He got up, wobbly as he stood, and noticed that Himawari, Inojin, and Hinata were flanking him on his sides, ready to pounce on him. He realized that the longer this battle drew out, the worse the situation would become for him. Being smart and tactical, he turned around and sped away, regrouping with Jigen, who was having more success battling with Kakashi and Naruto. Inojin rushed to Shikadai, and Himawari and Hinata followed him after asking Sumire and Mitsuki if Sarada was alive.

Sumire immediately jumped to Sarada's side. As a result of the sheer power of Koji and the two rasengans she took, Sarada was bleeding copiously, dark red blood flowing from her mouth, nose, and the back of her head. Sarada was also finding it really difficult to keep breathing, as the blood that did not come out of her nose and mouth began to pool instead inside her lungs.

"Sarada, we're here," Sumire reassured her as she tended to her, holding her hand to assure her. She also put Sarada's glasses back into the normal position. A groan escaped Sarada's mouth, along with more blood.

"Sumire… Mitsuki," Sarada weakly replied, gripping Sumire's hand tightly. "I feel faint…"

"You'll be fine. Just stay awake for me, promise?" Sumire reassured her, returning the grip and turning to Mitsuki. "We need to take her to Aunt Sakura." Nue came to them after ensuring that Shikadai would live, and Sumire climbed on top of her summon. Mitsuki got onboard behind her, and then grabbed Sarada, one extended arm supporting her neck and shoulders, and the other extended arm holding her at the knees. Nue moved at a slow enough pace to not let Mitsuki and Sarada fall off.

As soon as they arrived to Sakura, Sumire quickly dismounted from Nue and ran to them, Mitsuki being more gingerly as he held a badly wounded Sarada in his arms. Sakura had just finished Sasuke's treatment, and Sasuke was breathing deeply, trying to regain his chakra. Boruto was also tired from helping Sakura, and laid back against the wall with his master, giving him water.

"Sumire! Thank goodness you guys are safe!" Boruto rushed forward, and he and Sakura gave Sumire a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" Sumire responded as she returned the hug. "I was really worried about you. You got blown away by a bomb!"

"Of course I'd be alright!" Boruto confidently replied, giving Sumire his trademark sign of grinning and rubbing the back of his head. "I was much more worried about Sasuke-sensei. He was badly hurt because of the weapons Kara's using. But Aunt Sakura and I got all the projectiles lodged in his back, and fully healed the wounds they caused." Boruto showed her three deformed, cylindrical pieces of metal, which Sumire observed closely.

"Anyway," Boruto continued, "How's my dad? You were helping him heal with Nue, right?"

"He's better now. Lord Seventh is fighting the enemy along with Kakashi-sensei now."

"How about Sarada? Where is she?" Sakura and Boruto asked near-simultaneously. Sumire looked at them with worry and uncertainty, not knowing what to say, and then looked back at Mitsuki who was slowly walking to them, an unconscious, bloody Sarada in his arms. Sakura screamed in horror as she saw her only child mangled and near death. Mitsuki laid her down gently while Sakura knelt by Sarada's side and used medical ninjutsu on her to diagnose the damage dealt and heal her thereafter.

"She has heavy internal bleeding; her lungs are filling with blood… Her organs are starting to shut down, her chakra levels are dangerously low, and she's going into shock."

Sumire knelt down beside the unconscious Sarada. "She needs chakra too, right?"

"Yes," Sakura replied to her daughter's best friend. "She needs a steady supply of it, like an IV drip."

"Nue," Sumire turned to it as it approached her, "can you transfer chakra into her? Just like what you did with Lord Hokage?"

Nue purred softly and nodded. It sent out one chakra snake, which bit deep into Sarada and injected into one of her veins. With its other dark purplish chakra snakes, Nue then formed a smooth surface, which looked something like a satellite dish, as it absorbed more chakra from the environment. The chakra soon began to flow through Nue and into Sarada.

"Amazing," Sakura remarked, as she observed what Sumire and Nue were doing. She continued healing Sarada's internal organs, while Sumire kept her vital signs stable and in check, while also replenishing her nearly empty chakra stores. Boruto and Mitsuki sat beside Sumire, while Sasuke stood up and knelt by Sakura's side.

"What happened to my daughter?" Sasuke demanded to know.

"She got hit by two rasengans from Kashin Koji," Sumire told him. "Mitsuki and I barely stopped a third one."

"Where is he now?" Sasuke asked angrily. Boruto could tell that Sasuke wanted to hurt and to kill Koji, or Jiraiya, or whoever he was now, for hurting his beloved daughter.

"He probably regrouped with the remaining attackers," Mitsuki replied. "I think Kakashi-sensei and Lord Hokage are fighting them now."

"That settles it. I'm going over there to help." Sasuke said as he kissed his wife on the forehead. Sakura pulled him back to kiss him on the lips.

"Please honey," Sakura asked him, "stay safe there okay?"

"I will, my love… Our Sarada will be okay right?"

"I'll do everything I can… I promise, she'll be alright."

Sasuke kissed her again and hugged her. Then he turned to the rest of them. "Are you coming with me or staying here?"

Boruto and Mitsuki stood up and went to Sasuke's side. "I'll follow," Sumire told them. "Once we get Sarada's condition to a safe level, I'll join up with you."

"Stay safe while you're at it, Sumire," Boruto worriedly reminded her before the three of them sprinted off.

* * *

**_Announcement: The Siege of Konoha arc is nearing its conclusion! Two (or so) more chapters to go in this arc, and I guarantee that you wouldn't want to miss these next two chapters! There's bound to be lots of suffering and death... _**

**_Chapter 7: "Friend or Foe"_**

**_Chapter 8: "Parting Shot"_**

**_Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Comment your opinions down below:_**

**_1) What did you think of Shikadai's delaying tactic? And Mitsuki's struggle to play along? XD_**

**_2) Do you think Shikadai and Sarada are going to make it through this long night? *gasp*_**

**_3) What did you think of my recounting of Sumire's childhood? Her father Tanuki was nothing but an asshole to her._**

**_4) Sarada and Sumire's friendship? And their foiling Koji's plan, at least temporarily?_**

**_5) What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter? Sasuke is out for Koji's blood, but what about Naruto? =O_**


	7. Friend or Foe

**_Hello everyone! I'm back with another chapter! As I said last time, I'll be updating this story twice a week now, instead of thrice a week, as advised by my close friend Mira (shoutout to you again hehehe ^_^)!_**

**_So, I'll be uploading a new chapter every Wednesday and Sunday late Philippine Time (instead of Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday like it used to be) =D_**

**_Anyway, here's the next chapter! Make sure to review and leave likes or kudos or whatnot! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Friend or Foe**

Jigen and Kakashi faced off in the open space beside the lake and trees of Senju Park. They had gotten quite far from the original site of their battle, and also far from the other residential areas and the evacuation area.

Jigen was dodging Kakashi's relentless charges and counterattacking with one hand holding his personalized submachine gun and the other a gold rapier, since he did not want to waste his chakra or use his own Karma Seal just yet. On the other hand, Kakashi was exhausting himself trying to hit Jigen with Purple Lightning, and sorely missing his Sharingan and the Chidori it allowed in the process. He was hit once by Jigen's weapon, and he felt that something small had lodged itself in the bone of his left shoulder. It bothered and pained him much every time he moved that shoulder, and it limited his movement and range, but he continued the fight anyway.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi looked to his side and saw Naruto joining him, once again in his yellow Kurama chakra coat. "How are you holding up?"

"Not exactly great, but I'm still alive."

"But mercifully, not for much longer," mused Jigen loudly. "Soon, Konoha will be a burning pile of rubble, a relic of a bygone era."

"We won't let that happen," Naruto bluntly replied. "And the ninja world will not end tonight. Nor will the ninja way."

"No matter what you say or do, this city will fall tonight," Jigen retorted with the same bluntness, and even a hint of detachment, as he inhaled deeply. "And now the winds will wail and the rains will weep over Konoha, and there will be no one there to hear."

Naruto clenched his teeth and prepared to strike. He looked at Kakashi, who nodded, and they both entered fighting stances, ready to engage Jigen at a moment's notice.

Suddenly, Jigen held his ear, listening intently into his earpiece. He nodded and talked into his earpiece. "Yes Number 5… Everyone still alive, please withdraw from Konoha right now… And Eastern Watch, prepare our Grand Finale, but wait for my signal before you start… Number 10, please make preparations to cover our leave. Thank you."

"Thinking about escape already?" Kakashi asked Jigen.

"I don't think so," Naruto shook his head. "Even though I won't kill you, you will still have to pay for what you and your organization have done to our village."

"Not really," Jigen smirked. "I was merely checking on the progress of our assaults on the other ninja nations, as well making preparations to ensure your destruction."

Naruto decided that he had heard enough, and formed a rasenshuriken in his hand. He threw it at Jigen, but Jigen dodged it easily. With one hand, Jigen fired his submachine gun multiple times at Naruto, and returned to locking blades with Kakashi with the other hand. Naruto jumped up and formed a rasengan this time, intending to hit Jigen with it, only for Jigen to sidestep once again. Naruto almost ended up hitting Kakashi with his rasengan instead, and Kakashi only got down and dodged under the rasengan at the last possible moment. Naruto landed hard as his rasengan exploded into the ground and made a large crater in the grassy park. As Naruto gingerly got up, Kakashi looked behind them and saw Jigen looking at both of them, his weapon drawn pointed to them.

"Is this all you have? I thought you were the Sixth and Seventh Hokages, the Heroes of the Fourth Great Ninja War? Konoha's finest?"

Naruto stood up, angry and defiant. "Not by a long shot, you know! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With that, 20 clones appeared by Naruto's side, all in Kurama Chakra Mode. However, before anything could be done, Naruto felt the same pang he felt a while ago, when he saw Jiraiya-sensei once again. Naruto fell to his knees and the shadow clones all dissipated.

"Naruto! What is it?" Kakashi rushed to his side to check on him. "Is it your wound?"

"No, it's not that," Naruto replied. "It's him… He's here…" The two of them saw Kashin Koji landing by Jigen's side, his clothes partially wet and partially charred.

"What took you so long?" Jigen calmly asked him, his eyebrow raised slightly. Koji looked at him, then at Naruto and Kakashi.

"Well, I burned the son of Shikamaru with my toad oil," Koji replied with a sigh, "He's likely dead or dying as we speak. And I nearly finished off the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura, but she's wounded badly enough."

"Oh?" Jigen's interest piqued. "And you didn't finish her off? Compassion and mercy aren't some of your usual traits."

Koji scoffed. "I was only prevented from killing her by the damn spawn of Orochimaru, the Shigaraki heiress with her Gozu Tennou, Hinata the Byakugan Princess and her daughter, and the daughter's blonde boyfriend with the artsy scroll. They had surrounded me, so I chose to regroup with you instead."

Naruto breathed a sigh of partial relief, yet tension was still very much present in him. His wife, his daughter, Mitsuki, Sumire, and Inojin, were all alive. He was also very confused; he didn't know that Himawari and Inojin were actually together. He made a mental note to give them the talk after all this was over.

On the other hand, Naruto also felt a pang of fear and worry, since Shikadai was burned by one of Jiraiya's sage mode jutsus, one whose effects he had actually seen before. He was also concerned about the condition of Sarada, who had become sort of his protégé, student, and even friend, in the past couple of months. Sasuke had entrusted Naruto with keeping Sarada safe, so he was also worried about how Sasuke would react to seeing his only daughter being hurt under his watch.

"Naruto, what's the name of your daughter?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, or Kashin Koji, or whoever he was now. "_No,"_ Naruto thought to himself, "_he's still Jiraiya. He's still Pervy-Sage_._ And I will bring him back."_

"Her name is Himawari," Naruto replied to his former mentor and close friend. "Hinata actually came up with it."

"It's a wonderful name," Koji remarked, deep in thought. "She looks a lot like her mother. And you, my old student, you got very lucky. You actually ended up getting Hinata! And she's grown into a fine woman, if I may say so myself."

Naruto smiled. This really reminded him of his younger days, when he was training under Jiraiya, when the whole world was simpler, albeit more brutal, violent, and harsh. "Yeah, I would agree with that… I've been very lucky, especially after the war. Pervy-Sage… we have so much to catch up on, you know?"

Kakashi was stunned and gobsmacked upon hearing Naruto conversing with Kashin Koji, formerly Jiraiya, who only an hour ago had literally stabbed Naruto, the knife nearly piercing his heart.

"Talk about forgiving so easily," Kakashi groaned quietly. He then turned to Naruto and gripped his shoulder. "Are you really that naïve? He literally only stabbed you in the chest only an hour ago. He attacked the city and killed civilians and ninja alike. Now you think of him as a friend? And now you talk with him like an old friend?"

Naruto looked at him with annoyance, if not actual anger. "I'm sure he's only being manipulated by Jigen! Can't you see, Kakashi-sensei? It's Jiraiya… it's Pervy-Sage dammit! He would never willingly betray Konoha! Right Kurama?"

_"__Honestly," _Kurama's voice from within Naruto spoke,_ "it's hard to tell. I mean… If this is really the same Jiraiya from all those years ago, I don't see him attacking Konoha for no reason at all. On the other hand, I'm sure that it would also be extremely difficult for anyone to put Jiraiya under genjutsu or to manipulate him in the first place."_

"But Jigen has the Karma Seal, just like what Kawaki and Boruto have, correct? So there is a chance that he is only being controlled and manipulated into doing this, right?"

"Even if that's true," Kakashi pleaded, "now's not the time for sentiment. They're our enemies! We need to defend Konoha from them!"

"And if you want to do that," Koji interrupted Kakashi with crossed arms, "you'll have to kill us all, don't you?"

"If need be," Kakashi deadpanned, gripping his kunai and preparing to strike at them.

Naruto held out his arm to warn Kakashi. "You will not kill him. I will bring him back. I promise!"

Kakashi cursed internally. This was definitely Naruto, always insisting to not kill people, and instead wanting to rehabilitate them and "bring them back" to the road of good, just as he did with Sasuke years ago. It was practically his motto at this point. Kakashi conceded that it has always worked out in the end. But he was still worried. He wondered if Naruto was too blinded by his love and respect for his former sensei to see that the fate of Konoha and its people was dangling on the edge of a knife. One little step in the wrong direction, and Konoha will fall, and it will lead to the ruin of all.

As Kakashi looked to the side to think of a retort, he noticed Sasuke, Mitsuki, and Boruto running to them. The moment that Sasuke saw Kashin Koji, he roared and lunged for him with his katana. However, Naruto ran in front of Koji and caught the katana with his chakra hand outstretched, protecting his former master.

Boruto and Mitsuki stood there, shocked at what they were seeing. "Dad! What are you doing?"

"Have you… gone mad?" An incredulous Sasuke asked Naruto, rage and confusion seething from his voice. Both of his dojutsus were visibly stressed and angry.

But Naruto looked him in the eyes sternly as well. "I'm not going to allow you to kill Pervy-Sage! I will bring him back to our side, just like how I brought you back to the village all those years ago!"

"I don't care if you still see him as your old master. I'm going to make him pay for what he did to Sarada!"

"No, you won't! And he didn't kill Sarada, did he? So much for your payback; Sarada didn't die, and Jiraiya won't die either."

Sasuke clenched his fist, but he knew that Naruto was at least partially correct. At least, he knew that Naruto wasn't under genjutsu or anything like that. "_This was really Naruto," _Sasuke told himself_, "stubborn as hell, and always believing in the good of everyone. _

Naruto approached Sasuke, putting his hand on his shoulder. "I trust you, Sasuke. Place your trust in me too. I promise you, I can do this… I will do this. Trust me now, as you have all these years."

A low, quiet growl, coupled with light quadrupedal footsteps, was heard as Nue arrived, with Sumire on it. Sumire dismounted from her summoning creature and approached Boruto and Mitsuki. Sasuke turned to her and asked, "Sumire, how is my daughter right now?"

"She's is going to be okay. We stabilized her chakra levels and her vital signs. By the time I left, Aunt Sakura was working on repairing the damage done to her internal organs and her major blood vessels, but she told me that Sarada should make a full recovery."

"See Sasuke?" Naruto pointed out to him. "Sarada will be fine."

"Dammit…" Gritting his teeth, Sasuke backed off nonetheless, sheathing his katana and restraining his rage.

Meanwhile, as all of this was going on, Jigen was quietly coordinating the surviving Kara Inners, as well as the Kara Outers who were already attacking the other major cities of the continent. At first, while the assault on Konoha was still in its early and middle stages, and up to around an hour ago, he believed that the city was ready to fall, that its shinobi defenders would be overwhelmed, too weak and passive and peace-loving to put up actual, meaningful resistance. But as time went on, he was slowly proven false. The eastern press of Kara had been completely routed, and easily at that, by a group of young ninja who smartly used deception and guerilla tactics rather than meet them head-on. The northern attack went in strong and deep initially, but fell apart once enough reinforcements came, while the southern thrust, even with Jigen's help, had been stopped in its tracks by the Hokage, the Shadow Hokage, other heroes of the Fourth Great Ninja War, and some of the same young ninja from the eastern front, who Jigen now realized were the children of said war heroes. Only the western front saw true progress, and that was mainly because there wasn't anyone of note defending it. When the defenders of Konoha started massing on his position in the south, he realized that this siege could not be won. With this epiphany, he began organizing the plans for the retreat, as well as his parting blow to Konoha, using the confusion and hesitation on the side of the defenders to his advantage.

"Have all other units, aside from myself and Number 8, gotten out of the city?"

Affirmatives rang through the earpiece, but then one contradiction sprung up. _"Negative! Number One, still here in the west; just let me finish these two girls off, then I'll go."_

"No Delta, just leave them be. We're bombing Konoha to hell anyway."

An angry grumble was heard on the other side of the line, followed by a long pause. _"Dammit… Ugh fine, I'll go!"_

The preparations were now almost complete. There was just one final thing. "Number 10… you are to cover our escape… Are you ready for this?"

_"…__Yes. I'm in position. I'll wait for your signal."_

"Very well. We'll appreciate all the time you can give us. Do your best… my dear son…"

_"…__Yes father… I will do my best. For our ideal future."_

Jigen smiled and nodded at Kashin Koji, then waited. After Naruto and Sasuke settled their argument, Jigen addressed all the Konoha shinobi there. "My apologies to you all. Seeing as we do not have the remaining strength needed to win this siege, we have decided to concede defeat for now, and to withdraw from the city. This will prevent anymore vain and needless loss of life, both on your side and on ours. As such, I bid you adieu."

Everyone looked at him with confused and puzzled looks. "And who said we would let you leave?" Naruto asked him.

"Oh," Jigen clarified to them, "but I only said that I conceded your city. This one battle is over, yet the war continues nonetheless."

"No," Sasuke retorted. "We will to take you into custody, where I will personally interrogate you. Then we will put you on public trial-"

"For what?"

Kakashi stepped forward. "For destroying our city, for attacking and killing our people. And terrorism."

"Of that, I'm innocent," he spat back at Kakashi. "But to you, I'm guilty for a far worse crime: _'Desiring Progress and Equality and Change for Humankind'. _For you, being the leader of Kara must be equal to terrorism and such… To you, being a subversive such as myself must be the same as wanting actual change, genuine progress, adapting and evolving for the future, the advancement of science, and a literal and metaphorical revolution in human history. In short, accepting Entropy in all its forms and beauty. I will not give up my life for that, not until my goal is done."

"Still, you destroyed our city-"

"I have not destroyed this city entirely," Jigen continued, interrupting Kakashi. "Not yet. I will not be able to, but I wish so badly that I could. Watching the city fall, and the unjust ninja way along with it, even for a short period of time, gave me so much more relief and hope for the future of the entire human species! They have a chance in the future to be better than the way you all want them to remain!"

"You're a monster!" Boruto exclaimed. "You think you're a messiah who will lead the world to the right place? You're nothing but a deluded terrorist who uses his ideals to justify the massacres of thousands of people."

"I only wish that I was the monster you think I am. I really do. I wish I had enough power to smite you all with the snap of my finger. I would gladly do anything to see you shinobi all dead and gone." The usually calm and collected Jigen was becoming more and more animated and agitated as his spiel went on. Even Kashin Koji was surprised; he had never before seen Jigen this passionate, loud, or even angry.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Wasabi!" Namida shouted towards her girlfriend, while Delta was downed and dazed from a knee strike by Wasabi. "Keep her still! I'll try to hit her with another sound shockwave."

"I'll try," Wasabi replied hastily as she retreated to Namida's position, "but remember not to get me caught up in your sound waves!"

"When was the last time that happened?"

"You forgot already? My bed a week ago, remember? You scream-moaned right in my damn ear. I couldn't hear anything in that ear for hours!"

Namida blushed hard, as red as a scarlet sunset, when Wasabi mentioned that incident. She flashed back to what the two of them were doing in her room, the joy and wonderful feelings she was experiencing with Wasabi, and what eventually led to her half-moan, half-scream of lust. The same thing had occurred some months earlier, and they had to explain to Wasabi's parents what exactly had happened, so they had decided to come out. Luckily for them, Wasabi's parents accepted the two young lovers, and reassured Namida that she was part of their family already. They also forgave her for breaking some glass panes, as well as hurting their ears a lot, with her scream.

"NOT THAT!" Namida hid her tomato-red face. "When have I done that to you in an actual mission?"

Wasabi glanced at their enemy, who was still trying to get her bearings. "The last time was about… two months ago?"

"See?" Namida pouted, put her hands on her hips, and rolled her eyes. "That was so long ago!"

Wasabi could not help but laugh, and turned back to face Namida. "What would be more assuring is if it never happened, you know? But don't worry, I believe in you." Wasabi pulled Namida and kissed her quickly but sincerely, her eyes meeting hers and apologizing for the joking remarks just by looking, then ran back to return to keep on the offensive against Delta. Namida also moved up closer, but she made sure to stealthily sneak up, sticking to the shadows and staying behind pieces of rubble strewn across the streets.

Wasabi confounded Delta with her close range attacks and her utter speed and agility. Wasabi lined up thrice for attack runs, where she got in good hits, knees and claws to her torso and legs, while Delta tried repeatedly to crush her enemy with her hammer-arm or slice her with her sickle-arm, but to no avail. But on the fourth one, Delta instead countered with a side step, all the while transforming her right leg into a piston and her left leg into a claw that dug into the street. As Wasabi passed by her, she hit a well-placed thrust kick to Wasabi's side with her piston-shaped leg, sending Wasabi flying and tumbling like a barrel down the road. Groaning in pain for a few seconds, Wasabi nevertheless scampered off and lined up for another attack. Delta readied herself and her arms, which were still shaped like a sledgehammer and a war scythe, to inflict a world of hurt on Wasabi if she got too careless and too close.

Wasabi quickened her pace and sprinted towards her foe for the fifth time, but at the last moment diverted her course to her left and revealed a feint maneuver. Following Wasabi's movements, Delta looked around her and was surprised. While she was busy dealing with Wasabi's charges, Namida flanked right around alleyways and snuck up to her, using piles of rubble to hide. And now, Namida was right behind her, weaving her signs.

"Sound Style: Static Silence!" A wave of disorienting high-pitched static travelled from Namida to Delta.

Delta merely smiled. She was ready this time for her attack. "You'll only ever hurt yourself." She activated her dojutsus, her special purple eyes with vertical black stripes, and prepared herself to absorb the jutsu and send it back to Namida. However, much to her absolute shock, Delta was suddenly deafened, and she could hear nothing except ringing and static in her ears. _"What the hell?"_ She asked herself inside her head. _"Why did my eyes fail me? Why wasn't I able to absorb the jutsu? WHY?"_ Delta closed her eyes and tried to cover her ears to prevent further damage to her ears.

Namida paused in her attack, inhaled deeply once again, and sent another jutsu Delta's way. "Sound Style: Mach 1 Sonic Boom!"

Namida opened her mouth once more, and a literal sonic boom emitted from her mouth. Instantly, everything fragile in front of Namida broke; anything made of glass, clay flowerpots, and roof tiles, shattered. Even the weakened, burnt out, brick house in front of Namida finally partially collapsed. Delta tried and failed once again to absorb the sound jutsu, and so she was blown back into the collapsing debris of the brick house. Wasabi returned to Namida and gave her a high-five.

The celebration was very short-lived, as Delta got back to her feet, although she was visibly stunned and dizzy. She transformed her arms and hands back to normal, since she needed to support herself on the fallen debris and look around to check her bearings.

"Why? Why can't I absorb your attacks? My eyes are supposed to absorb, store, and emit any jutsus… Even your Hokage's Rasengans…"

Namida asked her cautiously, "You mean you can absorb and return any jutsus of the six fonons… err, elements, and their combinations?"

"Yes," Delta replied. "My eyes were designed for that very purpose… To be able to reflect any and all jutsus…"

"Then you don't know about the Seventh Fonon," Namida revealed. "Sound Style is commonly misidentified as a variant of the wind style, when in fact it is its own element. So… your eyes weren't designed to be able to absorb, store, and reflect, the Seventh Fonon of Sound."

"Enough with this; Namida, don't get carried away. Let's finish her off!" Wasabi determinedly remarked, as Delta slowly walked to them, her movements uncoordinated and groggy, as if she was drunk. Wasabi charged forward for the kill, but Delta saw her coming and reacted at the very last moment, partially from her grogginess and partially out of strategy. She stepped to the right and reached down to catch Wasabi, hooking her elbows on under Wasabi's shoulders. She then pivoted low and, using Wasabi's own momentum, swung all the way around, and then flung Wasabi high in the air, sending her crashing through the second floor of the house behind her. She then turned to Namida, who was looking on at the second floor, concerned about Wasabi's condition. Delta approached her very slowly, looking like she could keel over at any second.

Namida noticed her coming and breathed deeply before unleashing her signature jutsu. "Sound Style: Sparrow's Cry Jutsu!" The colorful sound wave hurtled towards Delta, who angled her head to the side and exposed the left side of her face to bear the brunt of the sound wave's force. She also fell forwards and instantaneously turned her limbs into clamps, which she dug deep into the concrete road and used them anchored her to the street. After Namida stopped her jutsu, she was surprised and confused to see Delta not selling the usually devastating impact her signature jutsu has. Delta was shaking off the shock wave as if it was nothing, and she was continuing to approach her, with her two arms transformed into a sword and a spear, while her two legs were now claws that stuck to the ground.

Namida fired off shock wave after shock wave, only to come up with the same result as Delta kept repeating her bracing motion. This began to cost Namida her chakra, and consequently the power in her sound jutsus waned and decreased as well. After the last attempt at a sound wave, Namida was able to see that Delta's left ear had a lot of blood dripping down from it, while her right ear was covered by her earpiece and was protected somewhat. Namida realized that her normal sound wave jutsus were now ineffective on her foe because she had already ruptured her left eardrum with her Static Silence and Sonic Boom attacks, while the right ear was protected and insulated from the outside by her earpiece. As Namida realized this and tried to come up with a better plan, Delta grabbed a high-explosive hand grenade and lobbed it straight at Namida, only for it to go wide right because of the awkward, unbalanced, uncoordinated way she threw it, which itself was due to her ruptured left eardrum. Still, the bomb blew up and sent Namida flying, and although she was out of the lethal range, she was still pelted by the fragments of debris and shrapnel that were kicked up by the explosion. Namida landed hard and skidded along the rough street, tearing gashes into her clothes and skin in the process.

Disoriented and dazed, Delta panted heavily while slowly walking towards her rocket launcher. Once she retrieved her weapon, she then glanced at Namida, who was still trying to get up to her feet. Delta aimed her weapon at her foe, readying herself for the kill shot. However, she was having a difficult time aiming, since her balance was off. The dizziness and lightheadedness were beginning to take their tolls on her, and she was also feeling an unsettling sensation in her stomach.

Before Delta could pull the trigger and release the rocket, Wasabi leapt from the collapsed second floor and slashed her claws straight down, cleaving the rocket launcher in half, triggering the rocket to fly upwards away from their area. The rocket flew by less than an arm's length in front of Delta's face, and it stunned her in the process. Wasabi kept on the offensive, advancing, punching, kneeing, elbowing, kicking, and clawing at Delta, who was trying to parry and block the strikes with what coordination and balance she had left. Delta was still being pushed back by Wasabi bit by bit, but as the hand-to-hand combat went on, Delta started to get the hang of the parrying, while Wasabi, who wanted to end the fight as soon as possible so that she and Namida could help out elsewhere, was getting more reckless with her strikes.

After noticing that her strikes were now being blocked consistently, Wasabi decided to try something else to gain the advantage once again. She feinted a punch, then spun around and delivered a devastating back elbow to the side of Delta's head, leaving Delta reeling and kneeling on one knee. Wasabi reached back and slashed down with her outstretched claws, but Delta rose up in time and lunged forward, hooking on Wasabi's arm at the elbow, and pulled hard on it while pushing her own body into the torso of Wasabi, lifting her up effectively. She then slammed Wasabi into the street, cracking the concrete below her with the impact.

Namida witnessed the judo takedown Delta had performed on Wasabi, and then she saw her blond foe pull out a red and black dagger from her waist and raise it high in the air. Out of instinct and desperation, she ran at full speed and tackled Delta, surprising her and making her drop her dagger. They fell to the ground in a heap, and as they rose to their feet, Delta struck at Namida, who only just managed to block it and still staggered back anyway. Delta realized that she had the advantage with taijutsu, and kept up her hard strikes. A straight punch and a kick were both barely parried by Namida, but a stiff knee strike to Namida's face fully connected, and Namida was knocked flat on her back, with fresh, deep red blood flowing from her now crooked nose.

Delta stood beside the supine Namida, and she again transformed her foot into a piston. Before Namida could getup or block with her arms, Delta stomped on her face with her piston foot and smashed her opponent's head against the curb, breaking her face in the process. Namida screamed in agony, as she felt the blood copiously pouring out from her flattened nose, cheeks, and the back of her head.

Not satisfied with her punishment just yet, Delta pulled out another high-explosive grenade, one with a longer fuse for a more terrifying and torturous wait. She removed the pin and was about to lay it on Namida's chest when Wasabi pounced, grabbing her wrist and hand. She clenched her hand extremely tight, her claw-like fingernails digging into Delta's wrist and drawing streams of blood. At first, Delta was shocked that Wasabi was still actually conscious, let along still fighting. A second later, she realized that she could not let go of the live time bomb in her hand, as Wasabi's grip was too tight.

"If you're going to kill us," Wasabi warned Delta, "I'll make sure you go down with us."

Realizing that the grenade was about to explode, Delta was forced by Wasabi to toss it backwards. Wasabi followed through with the motion, to make sure she actually let go of the bomb, as well as to make sure that the throw is strong enough such that the blast is as far from them as possible. The bomb detonated around a second and a half later, dislocating a fire hydrant and creating a tall fountain of water that drenched them and flooded the street. The blowback from the explosion was still considerable, as Delta was flung about a meter forward, while Wasabi was knocked straight onto her back.

After the blast, Wasabi rushed to Namida's side and was so relieved to see her alive, albeit bleeding heavily from her head. Her nose was broken and crooked, and her cheekbones seemed deformed as well.

"How bad is it?" Namida asked her, visibly and audibly in pain.

"It's ugly… but you'll live," Wasabi reassured her. "I'll treat you after… we deal with her." Wasabi carefully helped Namida to her feet. Namida almost fainted as she got upright, and was only held up on her shoulders by Wasabi, who herself was also already drained.

"I'm… so tired…" Namida informed her girlfriend, on whom she was leaning on for support, in more ways than one. "I can barely stand… I can barely breathe…"

"I know," Wasabi replied. "I'm spent too… I could use a long, relaxing break after this…" Wasabi looked back and saw Delta starting to get up. She felt something on her hand, and as she looked down, she saw Namida's hand clench hers. Wasabi interlocked their fingers and squeezed back.

"Defiant to the end," Delta mused as she stood up fully. "I could almost applaud you for that."

"Yes," Wasabi replied, "we're fighting to the end."

"Whether that end… is bitter or sweet," Namida affirmed, "…we're sticking together…"

Delta nodded and put her hand in her pocket. One last grenade was all she had, especially since her main non-chakra-reliant weapon, the rocket launcher, had been cut in half and destroyed earlier by Wasabi. She could, of course, transform her entire body into a weapon, but she was still disoriented and tired from the hard fought battle that had taken place. All of a sudden, static rang in her earpiece, which was followed by Jigen's voice. _"Have all other units, aside from myself and Number 8, gotten out of the city?"_

She pulled her hand from her pocket and replied into the earpiece. "Negative! Number One, still here in the west; just let me finish these two girls off."

_"__No Delta, leave them be. We're bombing this place to hell anyway."_

"Dammit!" Delta cursed. _"Though when I think more about it," _Delta further analyzed the situation in her head,_ "this was probably for the best_."

"Ugh fine," she relented. "I'll go."

Delta once again turned to her two foes. She now knew that the bond between those two girls was as real as can be. The way they covered for each other, worked together, fought together, and protected one another, even risking their own wellbeing for each other. They were both willing to sacrifice their own lives for the other's sake and survival. Those realizations touched Delta, and to her own surprise, warmed her heart.

"Hmm… Is a truce out of the question?" Delta asked the two of them.

"Wait… What?" They asked simultaneously, confused as to the sudden change in tone.

"I'm being made to leave by my lord commander," she explained. "I really hate to leave battles in any way undecided. And our battle will end in a draw, if my truce offer is accepted. So I ask you now: Truce?"

With that, she slowly pulled out the last grenade she had. "I won't remove the trigger pin," she reassured them as she gently rolled it to them. "That's my last weapon, aside from my personal knife. I don't have anything else. I swear on my honor and on my name, as Delta."

Wasabi and Namida looked at her with weary, suspicious eyes. But Wasabi knew that they were in no condition to continue the fight as well, especially Namida, who was barely standing, and leaning on her for support. _"For Namida's sake,"_ she reasoned, _"I should accept the offer."_ The battle itself wasn't necessarily going the way she wanted it to either, as Wasabi knew that Delta now had the upper hand. The fact that she suddenly asked for a truce, when she clearly had the advantage, convinced Wasabi that Delta was not tricking them, not to mention the fact that she was also visibly miffed that her commander was ordering her to end the battle early.

"We… umm… accept your truce offer," Wasabi informed Delta.

"Thank you," smiled a relieved Delta. "But before I go, I do have to commend you two. Going toe to toe with me is quite the achievement, if I may say so myself. You both are very courageous, and the teamwork you two showed me stunned me. I've never seen a bond such as yours before."

"You bet," Namida gave the best smile she could. "The two of us… have been through so much together… both the good and the bad… Our bond has grown very strong over all these years…"

"I know exactly what you're talking about," Delta informed them.

Wasabi doubted her. "I don't think you do."

"I'm pretty sure I do," Delta insisted. "And I wish you two well. Keep your trust and faith in each other. I hope you two stick together, if you know what I mean." She remembered the reason why she had joined Kara years ago, and why she had willingly undergone so much suffering and pain to make her special eyes, her spare clones, and the drone that housed her computer-assisted brain and conscience. As a member of Kara, she had sworn to uphold her responsibility to promote and spread positive social changes and reforms, by any means necessary. This meant removing the old, horrible, conservative, discriminatory ideas that were still in place everywhere, by force if needed.

Namida and Wasabi looked at Delta, understanding what she was trying to say. "Unlike what homophobic idiots think, a lesbian relationship is still a real relationship," Wasabi affirmed her belief. "It's still love, no matter what form or shape it takes."

"You are correct," Delta told the two and let out a rare smile. "The whole reason why I've been fighting is so that the generations alive right now, and all the generations that will come after us, will stop having to experience the discrimination and injustices our world still has right now, to make sure that Mother Progress will overcome the bitch Conservatism is, along with all other obstacles standing her way. For that way, the world will truly change for the better. It was precisely because I have seen so much injustice around the world that I joined the organization you know as Kara in the first place."

"What problems are there still… in the world?" Namida asked. "There's not much problems in Konoha… as far as I know…"

"Don't be blind to the darkness of Konoha, young girl. Even in this strong city and nation, there are still those who live in abject poverty, barely scraping by, day-by-day, just to survive. And don't get me started on the homophobia here, I'm sure you two have experienced that yourselves."

Wasabi nodded, having experienced it first hand many times before, and as recently as earlier that night. "It's mostly old people clinging onto their old beliefs and their antiquated, judgmental lifestyles. They'll be gone soon enough."

"Some countries like Ame and Kusa are indeed progressing, yet inequality with regards to income, gender roles, and opportunity are still present. And in other poorer nations, such as Shimo, the Daimyo there and his fellow corrupt leaders bask in their wealth, while the people they rule, the very people they vowed to serve, starve and perish to supply them with more wealth. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. And men who are brave and stupid enough to point out and report the injustices are brutally murdered, and their wives raped, and their children kidnapped, to serve as brainwashed Anbu and slaves. Can you guess who carries out these vile acts? Their own Ninja Police."

"If what you say is true, we have to report that to the Hokage," Namida told her emphatically, "or any of the five Great Kages! They will act! Lord Hokage will act! He will never stand for this."

"They already know what is happening in Shimo," Delta revealed. "And even if your Lord Hokage wants to act, as long as one of the other Great Nations objects, they cannot. That's the veto rule in the Shinobi Union. To clarify, the Lands of Lightning and Water are against interfering in Shimo, and The Land of Fire, while sympathetic to the oppressed people of Shimo, is also hesitant to an extent. This is because it could take a bloody, costly invasion to stop the abuses, and they have sworn to peaceful methods only."

"As my father once told me," Delta continued, "'_the ninja only serve to keep themselves in power, to protect the status quo_.' For that, we swore to change it. We want change and progress, but as long as ninja are here, it will never be actually happen. As long as the shinobi keep the rich in power at the expense of the forgotten ones in society, we will never achieve justice and positive change. We will render the ninja way obsolete, and replace it with an actual, benevolent, progressive, and proactive, government."

Wasabi and Namida stayed silent. They were saddened at what Delta was telling them, and how hopeless the condition of progress seemed. To them, it now seemed as if Delta was not really an enemy, but rather someone fighting for the same causes as them, albeit using a different, far more radical method as her solution to the wicked problem.

Wasabi then recalled that her team had recently experienced a similar case during one of their missions two months ago, with nearly identical words and solutions proposed. "It's just like Trajano and the Scattered Asch, at the Land of Water," she compared.

Namida agreed. "You're right! He said the same thing before…"

Delta's eyes grew wide after Wasabi had mentioned those names. "Perhaps you two aren't so blind to the social realities after all," she mused.

"Hope is not all lost," Delta continued, looking at the two of them. "Not quite yet. Seeing you two gives me more hope for the future. Now, I believe in your generation, the New Generation, to carry on the fight for true progress. Maybe not in the same way we do, but for the same goals nonetheless. In any case, I need to go now."

"Wait!" Namida called after as she stumbled to the ground and grabbed Delta's dagger. It was a blade with a shiny sheen, with the red delta symbol carved into its black hilt. She looked at it for a moment, before walking to Delta. "This is yours, isn't it?"

"Yes," Delta told her as she sheathed it. "Thanks. By the way, if I were you guys, I'd take shelter now."

"One more thing!" Wasabi called after Delta before asking her, "Before you leave, how did you know Trajano?"

Delta answered, to the shock of the other two, "Trajano was my father." After bowing to the stunned Wasabi and Namida, the Kara Inner turned, ran, and left Konoha for good. Namida coughed loudly and leaned her entire body on Wasabi out of fatigue, since she was practically out on her feet. Wasabi wrapped Namida's shoulder around her neck, and led her to an abandoned building where she could treat her injuries.

*******XXXXXXX*******

A voice cracked onto Jigen and Koji's earpieces, distracting Jigen momentarily. _"Number One speaking here… I'm out of the city now. We're just waiting on you, Number 4 and Number 8."_

Jigen knew it was time. "Very well," he said over the radio. "Eastern Watch, launch it right now." He then turned his attention back to the group of shinobi before him. "It is time now for the dominoes to fall… And now the winds will wail and the rains will weep over Konoha, and not a soul to hear…" Jigen and Kashin Koji crossed the bridge of the park and fled south, to the outskirts of the city.

Sasuke and Naruto prepared to chase after them, but out of nowhere, something screamed overhead and slammed into the bridge they were just about to cross. It exploded, destroying the bridge and collapsing it into the water below. The blast knocked the group onto their backs, as a cloud of scattered wooden and metal shrapnel was blown in all directions. Boruto got up slowly, dizzy from the sudden shockwave pushing him backwards and knocking him down.

"What was that?" He asked himself out loud.

As everyone else got up, they turned around after similar, small booming sounds came far to the east beyond the city, and violent explosions shook and echoed within Konoha's ruined walls. The group climbed the great tree in the center of the park, and as they looked all around them, they saw buildings partially or completely collapsing, houses crumbling into rubble, fires spreading quickly, and metal shells and bombs being launched into the city exploding, launching shrapnel and smoke clouds in all directions. Screams for help were heard from everywhere.

"Everyone, stay here and hold your positions," Kakashi told everyone as the bombing and shelling transpired. Most of the younger shinobi were in shock and awe at the sight, and nobody knew what exactly was going on.

"But our people need us!" Naruto retorted. "Do you want us to sit here and do nothing?"

"Do you want to be hit by one of those bombs?" Kakashi reasoned when he replied to Naruto. "Or lose your son? Or lose anyone else here? I know you want to help everyone, but if we lose you, we're all lost."

"You're their shining beacon of hope, Naruto," Sasuke added, putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "and if you fall here tonight, Konoha's future is suddenly more uncertain. It will be thrown into utter chaos."

"Nobody else needs to go with me. And I don't care if I get hit. I will go and protect my city. That's my job and responsibility as the Hokage," Naruto affirmed, his conviction palpable. Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"Fine," Kakashi groaned and relented after reflecting. "We'll go with you. You three," he looked at Boruto, Mitsuki, and Sumire, "stay here."

"No," Naruto said. "Only Sasuke and I need to go. Kakashi-sensei, please take care of the kids."

"Will do," Kakashi replied.

"You guys," Naruto turned to Boruto, Mitsuki, and Sumire. "Go back to Sakura and Sarada, and keep yourselves safe. Stay in shelter and wait until the bombing is over."

"Dad," Boruto hugged his dear dad tight. "Please… stay safe."

"I will, son. Don't you worry about me! I got this, you know?" Naruto stuck out his fist to Boruto, and he happily and proudly returned the fist bump to his dad. Shortly afterwards, Naruto and Sasuke ventured deeper into Konoha to protect to citizens from the raining bombs, while Boruto, Sumire, Mitsuki, and Kakashi climbed onto Nue and quickly made their way back to Sakura.

Nue ran through the abandoned streets that were bounded by tall commercial and office buildings, back to where they had last seen Sakura and Sarada. However, a huge explosion was heard north of them, and it was much bigger than any of the others in the shelling. Nue was startled so it came to a stop quickly.

"That explosion," Mitsuki pointed out, "I don't think it was one of those flying bombs."

"What was it then?" Boruto asked in return.

"There's a clearing up ahead," Sumire replied, pointing to an intersection onto one of the main streets five blocks away, which did not have many tall buildings around it. "We can take a look once we get there."

* * *

**_What is happening right now? Why are bombs falling out of the sky? WAAAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhhh! (...boooooooooooom...) _**

**_Well, one more chapter to go before the end of this arc! And you don't want to miss this! Chapter 8: Parting Shot, will be uploaded on Sunday, sometime after Boruto episode 112 premiers ! ^_^_**

_All comments are welcome! If you guys want, answer in your reviews:_

_1)__ What do you guys think of Naruto being such a good guy? That he immediately forgives and protects the man who almost killed him earlier that night? XD_

_2) Delta VS Wasabi and Namida? ^_^_

_3) The fact that people can be fighting for the same thing, but with different and sometimes contradicting solutions? It happens in the real world more often than people think =O_

_4) This Trajano character, for Filipino readers out there? I'm sure you know who this one is... if not, GMG jkjk ;)_


	8. Parting Shot

**_Hello guys! I'm back with another chapter! And earlier than usual this Sunday evening (well, at least it's Sunday night over in my place right now). Anyway, here goes Chapter 8! It's a long one, the longest I've written so far! I hope you guys enjoy it! I promised shock and awe and chaos and etc etc, and hopefully this delivers it! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Parting Shot**

When Nue and the four Konoha ninja riding on it reached the intersection clearing, Sumire motioned for her summoning creature to stop. They looked at what had caused the more massive blast, while the sounds of bombs falling from the sky were booming and whirring all around them.

"Boruto," Mitsuki pointed out, "it's the Hokage's Residence. It looks like it was hit."

"It's in flames," Boruto added, as they observed the fiery carnage from far away. What was once one of the symbols of Konoha's prestige and power was now in real danger of burning down to the ground in ashes. Whilst they were observing the blazing building, a metal shell whizzed by landed a few meters away beside them. Startled and in a slight panic, Nue reared up on its hind two legs and almost threw off everyone riding on it.

"Easy, Nue…" Sumire comforted it once Nue had returned to all fours, rubbing its mane and neck gently in an effort to calm it down.

"We can't wait here," Kakashi reminded the other three. "We need to get to Sakura and Sarada as soon as we can."

"We're almost there," Sumire replied to Kakashi. "Just eight streets from here." She gently ordered Nue to start moving again. As they moved along the road, more bombs started falling all around them.

"I think we should stick close to the buildings," Kakashi suggested to Sumire, who then conveyed the order to Nue, who afterwards stayed on the sidewalks near tall buildings.

Confused and worried, Boruto asked, "But what if the buildings start coming down? We could be hit by falling debris."

"Being sheltered somewhat by the buildings is still much better than being hit by explosions out in the open," Kakashi replied.

Sumire nodded in agreement. "Lesser of two evils, I guess? But Boruto does have a point too, so we should just keep on the lookout then for any bombs that could be headed our way."

Within two tense minutes of travelling in the midst of a violent bombardment, Nue arrived at the rendezvous point, the front garden of a quaint blue house, where Sumire had last seen the mother and daughter duo, before she left to help Boruto and the others. Once they entered the gate of the house, they saw that Sakura was still treating her daughter, mending the shattered ribs she had. By now, Sarada was more or less fully conscious. The pain was still very visible in Sarada's scrunched face and gritted teeth, but when she saw Boruto, Mitsuki, Sumire, and Kakashi arrive, her expression changed to a happier, more serene look.

"Guys!" Sarada exclaimed, before letting out a loud grunt as her mother repaired another broken rib.

"One more to go," Sakura told her. She then turned to Kakashi. "Where are Sasuke and Naruto? Are they okay?"

"Yes they are," Kakashi replied to her. Just then, three piercing whizzes zoomed close by overhead, and then three thundering bangs followed in short order farther away. "They're trying to protect the citizens from the bombardment."

Sakura was still worried sick for her husband and her close friend, but felt relief in knowing that at least they were still alive, not to mention in good enough condition to fight for Konoha. She then focused back on her daughter and repaired the last broken rib. She set it back into its normal position, and leaned back, breathing heavily and sweating.

"There," she panted. "I'm done. How are you feeling, Sarada?"

Sarada slowly and gently stood up, careful not to pull or stress anything too much, as she was just freshly healed. She gradually stretched and rotated her joints, checking for any more breaks, sprains, or tears that may have been left out. Her right wrist felt off; she could not twist her hand without it jolting in pain.

"It's just my wrist now," she told her mother. "Can you check, just to be sure?" Sakura observed and rotated it for herself, causing Sarada to wince and yelp in pain.

"It's looks like a sprain," Sakura assessed, before clarifying, "if it's major, then it may have tears in the ligaments or muscles." She produced the same green healing aura she used a minute ago to heal her broken ribs, and focused it on her wrist. Before too long, Sakura ended the treatment and let go of Sarada's right wrist.

"Try moving it now," Sakura suggested to her daughter.

Sarada twisted it and put weight on it, and she felt no more pain. "It's alright now."

"I'm relieved," Sakura said as she leaned back and relaxed. Now that she was fully healed, and without risking another injury, Boruto, Mitsuki, and Sumire all approached her and engulfed her in a group hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Boruto told her. "You damn nearly gave us heart attacks when Sumire and Mitsuki brought you to us."

"You should have seen him a while ago Sarada," Sumire added. "One moment he was so calm, and the next he panicked and nearly fainted."

"I was nowhere close to fainting, Sumire!" Boruto retorted, almost laughing, before looking back at Sarada. "Though I really was worried about you. You really were in horrible shape."

"I was anxious as well," Sumire exhaled as well. "But I'm just happy to see that you're okay now."

"I felt worried too… I think?" Mitsuki told her. "And though I can't physically get sick, the worry I felt was as close as I could get to that…"

Sarada blushed and smiled at the comments she was receiving. "Thanks, you guys," she noted as she deepened and tightened the hug. As she let her tears of joy fall, he felt so lucky to have them by her side, friends who would stay by her side, who worry about her, and who appreciated and valued her just as much as she valued them. "Boruto… Mitsuki… Sumire… and everyone… thank you so much…"

Sakura watched and grinned, the scene reminding her of her friends all those years ago. She remembered both good and bad times that she had with Team 7, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Temari, and everyone else. Meanwhile, Kakashi was staring out into the distance towards the burning Konoha. _"At least some people are happy here," _he internally quipped. As he breathed a sigh of relief, he noticed that the city had gone silent. There were no more explosions, no more metal projectiles or bombs being launched into Konoha, and no more fighting in the streets. "I think… the battle is… finally over," he told the others.

The six of them looked out from the garden they were taking shelter in, and they heard the same thing: silence. Cold, haunting, eerie silence hung over Konoha, aside from the crackling of the fires and the somewhat jubilant screams of people in the distance.

"YES!" Boruto exclaimed, jumping up in joy and relief. "We won!"

Sarada smiled and crossed her arms. "Yes, I think we finally did."

Sakura opened the gate and walked out to the open street. "Let's get back and meet up with my husband and with Naruto. They were protecting a lot of people from the bombs, and I'm quite sure that there were many people hurt, so I'd like to help them."

Everyone started walking towards Nue, everyone except for Sumire. She gripped her hand near her heart. She had a hard time believing that the attack would end with only that. She felt very uneasy because she suspected that this was not the end, but rather like a serene calm before the true storm, which occurs once the storm's eye passes overhead. And right after, the storm's greatest gusts and rains always follow.

This gut wrenching feeling made it hard for her to breathe, and she fell on her knees on the grassy ground. "Sumire!" Boruto exclaimed as he rushed back to her, quickly followed by Sarada and Mitsuki. "Are you alright?"

"What's happening?" Sarada asked her, as she looked her in the eye. "Are you having another vision?"

"But Nue is right there," Mitsuki pointed at Sumire's pet summon, who was waiting for them outside, although Nue itself also seemed perturbed, even nervous.

Before Sumire could explain what she was feeling and thinking, there came the sound of another violent fusillade. Another set of shells was fired upon Konoha from outside the city. This all but confirmed Sumire's feeling. "This was not the end. It was only a lull."

A pensive Mitsuki replied, "The calm before the storm, you mean?"

Sumire nodded. "Take cover again!" Kakashi and Sakura reentered into the garden, and the six of them took shelter in the front garden. However, once the bombshells landed on the roofs and streets, they did not explode upon impact. In fact, once they hit anything solid, the metal shells sounded hollow, and more or less bounced around.

"Well… What a storm that was," Boruto sarcastically scoffed.

"That was weird," Sarada observed, trying to infer Kara's motives and plans. "Did they do that to scare us? To traumatize us?"

Mitsuki looked around. The previous, devastating bombardment of explosives lasted around fifteen to twenty minutes before the lull. Afterwards, another minute of continuous bombing, this time of fake shells, then Konoha fell silent again. "I don't get it. What are they trying to do?"

They were surprised when they heard tiles break on the roof of the house. A hollow, bright yellow, metallic canister of sorts bounced thrice on the roof, making a lot of noise as it did, and then fell to the ground beside them. It didn't even make a crater in the ground. In fact, the metal itself dented, while the projectile bounced off and rolled away.

"It looks like a fake," Mitsuki stated to the others. "Don't worry."

"Mitsuki, even if it's fake," Sarada asked him, "can you throw it away? I'm feeling uncomfortable just seeing it. I have the feeling it will blow up at any second."

Mitsuki nodded and walked slowly to the hollow canister. "Mitsuki, be careful," Sakura told him. He slowly, cautiously picked it up. It was very light, definitely not a heavy explosive, he concluded.

"It's okay," he assured the others, giving them a thumbs-up and a close-eyed grin like what Boruto would do. However, he heard a soft, distinct metallic click from within the can. "Huh?" He looked closer at it, trying to investigate the sound the canister made. Another click was heard, and the canister cracked and burst open. A gas with a mustardy-yellowish hue sprayed out into Mitsuki's face. Surprised, Mitsuki gasped and coughed as he let go of the can, and in the process inhaled entire lungful's of the yellow gas. The gas then flowed to the ground and hovered, spreading across the grassy, flowery garden.

"Mitsuki!" Sumire exclaimed. As the gas lurked towards the others, Mitsuki lay on the ground, unable to get up.

"I'll get him," Boruto decided on his own, but was grabbed by Sarada, Sumire, and Sakura.

"No!" They simultaneously grabbed him and pulled him away from Mitsuki. They watched as Mitsuki extended his arm and grabbed the swung open gate, pulling himself away from the gas cloud that had surrounded him. While doing this, he extended his other arm and reached for the canister. He was barely able to fling it over the dividing wall and into the neighboring lot. But even though the gas canister was thrown away, the yellow-brown gas remained hovering above the ground, like a persistent, mango-colored mist. Boruto, Sumire, Sakura, Sarada, and Kakashi, all went around the gas, not risking any contact with it, before reaching Mitsuki at the gate of the garden.

"Mitsuki," Boruto rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Don't touch me… Don't touch my clothes…" Mitsuki warned them, showing them his arm. They looked at his contaminated kimono, the white part of it drenched dark yellow, and much of the blue part stained with yellow to form a greenish hue. "You could be contaminated too."

"How are you feeling?" Sakura knelt beside him, preparing to use her healing aura on him.

"I feel… so itchy… that it's painful…" The condition of his exposed skin was visibly worsening. As they looked at his right arm, the one he had used to throw the gas canister away, they saw blisters and vesicular lumps gradually popping up and starting to swell. Even his face started showing lesions and dark chemical burns that were beginning to swell.

"We need to get him to the hospital," Sakura assessed, concerned about Mitsuki and his worsening condition. "Can you walk?"

"I think so…" Mitsuki replied. His eyes were growing pink, and he tried to stand up from his sitting position, but fell forward and got on all fours, coughing out phlegm interspersed with blood. As he supported himself on the rocky entranceway to the garden, a fast growing blister on his hand burst, and a thick yellow fluid poured out from the opened blister onto the ground. Even with the pain and irritation carved into his face, he willed himself to his feet and started walking, following Kakashi who had volunteered to take point. Boruto, Sakura, Sarada, and Sumire followed close by, with Sarada and Sumire both riding on Nue and bringing up the rear.

"Mitsuki," Sumire asked, "are you sure you don't want to ride on Nue?"

"Thanks for the offer… Sumire…" Mitsuki turned to her, staggering as he did, yet maintaining his form. "But I don't want to risk… touching any of you, including Nue… For all we know… you guys could also get… what I'm having now."

Boruto insisted, "But are you sure you can walk? You look like you're close to fainting."

"I'll… be okay…"

"How far are we from the hospital?" Sarada asked her mother.

"At this pace," Sakura responded, "we'll be at the hospital in about 20 to 25 minutes."

_"__I hope we'll make it to the hospital,"_ Sarada thought anxiously, though that feeling was slowly being overshadowed by her slight dizziness, which came from the long ride on the slow-moving Nue. _"At least I'm sort of getting the hang of riding on Nue now," _she told herself, though it did not make her any less queasy.

*******XXXXXXX*******

In the east, some seven kilometers away from Konoha, the six Kara Outers manning three massive artillery guns were launching the last of their normal bombs to buy time for the Kara Inners' escape. They kept in constant communication with Jigen, as well as the other Kara Outer units who were now currently attacking other major cities. After fifteen minutes of nonstop, heavy bombardment, the group loaded up their final explosive shells into their artillery units, sealed the circular doors, and fired while bracing and covering their ears. Three loud booming sounds erupted from the ends of the long barrels, followed by powerful recoil kickbacks and dark grey smoke clouds that dissipated shortly thereafter.

After removing the smoking spent cartridge from their gun, the gunner and reloader of the first gun stood up. "Those were the last?"

"Yep, for now," The reloader of the third gun replied. "Give the guns a rest first. They might overheat."

The ones manning the second gun walked to the stockpile and carried crates filled with lighter, yellow shells. "We'll prepare the Grand Finale in the mean time."

The third gun's crew looked on at the reddish black smoke rising from within the ruined walls of Konoha. "What's the Grand Finale exactly?" One of them asked the others. "I know it's some sort of secret weapon, but does anyone know what these yellow shells actually do?"

The others shook their heads, except for the first crew's reloader. "From what I heard, it's a sulfuric gas bomb; they're calling it mustard gas. The mustard gas is yellow like mustard, and by itself is pretty debilitating, but while it mainly maims and hurts really bad, it doesn't kill too much."

"It's a chemical weapon?"

"Yep. The main goal isn't really to kill, but to instill fear, terror, and despair into our enemies. To break their wills of fire and stone…"

"Hey, we're ready." The second gunner then waved to get the others' attention. "Let's get this over with. We don't have too many of these yellow shells, so let's make them count. Spread them all over the city, over as wide an area as possible."

As the new, lightweight, bright yellow shells were loaded into the artillery guns, the first gun's crew turned to their comrades and proudly declared, "Let's bring this city to its knees."

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Sasuke," Naruto warily panted, "it looks like the battle's over." The two of them looked around them. Wounded and terrified citizens of Konoha were huddled together, a lot of them within range of Naruto's clones and their chakra barriers, which protected them from the bombs that fell like rain around them. And within the city, the eerie, unsettling silence descended as the sound of explosions, which had been so constant over the past few hours, had finally disappeared.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. "I think it's finished…" He slipped to one knee, having exerted so much of his energy and chakra to protect the helpless citizens of Konoha. One by one, the many clones of Naruto disappeared, and the bright yellow chakra cloaks and barriers along with them.

"What a night," Naruto breathed hard while he sat beside Sasuke. He too was spent, and he needed a good long rest, though he knew or felt that he could only get that rest once the vital services of Konoha were rebuilt and up and running once again. That could take days, even weeks to complete, and Naruto despaired at the thought. Still, Konoha, and the Land of Fire as a whole, was his responsibility as the Seventh Hokage, so he fully accepted the challenge anyway.

"I wonder how the others are doing," Sasuke asked Naruto. "Sakura, Sarada, Boruto, Kakashi, and the others."

"I'm sure they're all doing fine," Naruto replied with enthusiasm and confidence. "We'll see them soon enough-"

Naruto stopped mid-sentence as the barrage from far in the east began anew. "Damn! It's not over yet!"

"Get ready!" Sasuke drew out what chakra he had left and formed his partial body Susanoo, while Naruto produced countless shadow clones once again to protect the people. However, once the yellow metal canisters started falling to the ground, they bounced around and did not detonate. Sasuke examined them closely.

"Fake bombs?" Naruto asked.

"No… I don't think so…" Sasuke sighted a few of the canisters leaking some yellowish gas, which stayed low on the ground like a bright fog. "Keep your chakra barriers up," he warned Naruto, "I think it might be some sort of poison or disabling gas." Just then, someone appeared right beside Naruto and Sasuke.

"Kawaki!" Naruto greeted his adopted son.

"Lord Hokage!" Kawaki gasped for breath while kneeling. "The Hokage Residence is on fire, sir! It was hit bad by one of the bombs awhile ago."

"Really?" Naruto looked at him, with the looming sadness that he could not afford to show trying to make itself known on his face. "Thank you for informing me, Kawaki. I'll get there as soon as possible-"

The metal canisters started clicking and clinking altogether, and the small doors on them swung open, spraying out the yellow gas. Some people unfortunate enough to not be within protection of the chakra cloaks were reached by the gas cloud and fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing, getting unnatural burns and blisters on their exposed skin.

"Sasuke," Naruto turned to him, "can you use your Rinnegan to push the gas away?"

"I don't have nearly enough chakra," Sasuke told him. "I don't have enough for Almighty Push, nor my Time-Space Ninjustsu, nor much of anything for the Rinnegan."

"What can I do to help?" Kawaki offered.

Naruto turned to look to him again. "If you can find Boruto and his friends, please lead them to the hospital. Please take care of them, and please, keep yourself safe."

Kawaki nodded and started sprinting away behind them, away from the incoming gas. As Naruto and Sasuke were busy coordinating the clones and their barriers to stop the gas from reaching the defenseless evacuees, Kawaki suddenly stopped and turned around, activated his Karma Seal, and aimed at them from behind. He fired a shot of pure chakra from his seal and created a portal to another dimension, right under Naruto and Sasuke, who fell right through it. The portal closed the moment the two disappeared from view, and in an instant all of Naruto's clones disappeared, and so did the chakra barriers. Kawaki smirked; his hastily thought out plan worked remarkably well. He had seen the two of them while he was running from the burning Hokage Residence to the Stone Faces Monument, and right then he decided to try and eliminate them from the equation, at least temporarily.

"And the Uchiha won't have enough chakra to warp himself and Lord Hokage back here for quite a while," Kawaki echoed. "He said so himself."

Kawaki looked around him in the square, and saw men, women, and children, old and young alike, all being enveloped by the gas cloud. A lot of them started dropping down to the ground, thinking that it was just like smoke, but others stood their ground and stayed above the misty yellow gas. Cries of panic and anguish echoed around him. He looked away, trying not to care about their suffering. They were the very same people who had made him suffer terribly. All these hate shown, all the injustices committed, and discrimination done against him, all of them made him focus his fury on the people of Konoha. In his mind, the people of Konoha were all the same: evil. Instead, he looked at his watch, which read 5:31 am, half an hour before dawn. He then turned his attention to the Hokage Stone Faces, which stood high above where he was standing, and a bit of a distance as well. "Final target, on my way."

*******XXXXXXX*******

After suddenly spiraling down a dimensional rift that had literally come out of nowhere, Naruto and Sasuke broke through what felt like a roof. They then landed hard on an orange floor, with brownish walls around them, and a purplish sky above.

Naruto groaned in pain as he sat up and looked at his creepy, bizarre, yet somewhat-familiar surroundings. "What happened? Where are we?"

Sasuke stood up and immediately unsheathed his sword. "No time to think of that," he whispered. "Be on your guard, someone's here."

Naruto got up onto his feet as well. "I know. Kurama can feel the chakra as well. He's close."

Suddenly, the two heard a voice from around a corner. _"Press the bombing on Konoha for as long as possible… Keep up the sieges on Kiri, Suna, Yu, and Kumo… Confirmed, Takumi, Tani, and Yu have fallen. Now, launch the attacks on Iwa, Ryutan, Ame, and Oto…"_

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Naruto whispered quietly to Sasuke as the two of them approached the corner of the corridor. There was a closed door, and the voice was coming from the other side. The two of them snuck up to the door, and then coordinated with each other to burst into the room.

A figure cloaked in white finished his transmission before turning around to face the new intruders. "Ohh, look who ended up here… the Hokage and the Shadow Hokage." He then sighed in exasperation. "Kawaki," he silently muttered to himself, "you asshole, why did you just dump them here? They're messing up my home." Naruto and Sasuke looked at him and recognized him. He was the other Otsusuki, the one who escaped from their grasp during the Momoshiki Attack a few years ago.

"Urashiki," Sasuke tried to confirm. "If what Gaara had told me before is correct?"

"You were the one with Momoshiki and Kinshiki!" Naruto exclaimed.

The white-skinned, horned Otsusuki bowed to them. "Urashiki Otsusuki. I am pleased to make your acquaintance once again. However, you come at such horrible timing, so I must insist that you both leave."

"You're the one responsible for the attack?" Sasuke glared at him. "We will only go back once we've killed you."

"I'm afraid you have no chance of achieving that," Urashiki replied while crossing his arms. "The attacks must continue and spread further, and so will chaos, death, and despair. And as for you, I know that you don't have anywhere near enough chakra yet to warp back to your dimension; you would have immediately warped back if you did. So, I must bid you adieu."

Urashiki paused as he snapped his fingers. Another portal appeared right below Naruto and Sasuke, and it evaporated just as they fell through.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Keep pushing, Mitsuki!" Sumire encouraged. "We're nearly there!"

Mitsuki grunted and moaned, both expressing acknowledgment and agony. However, as the group turned the corner, Mitsuki walked straight into a wooden electric pole on the sidewalk. "Mitsuki!" Sarada exclaimed as she leapt off Nue and rushed to his side. Mitsuki crumpled down to his knees and fell onto his side. As Sarada and the others checked on him, they saw his eyes were swollen nearly shut, and the thin slivers of Mitsuki's eyes still visible were colored deep pink.

"Sarada…" Mitsuki weakly uttered. His breathing was irregular, wheezing, and laborious. "I don't think… I'm going to make it…"

Boruto reacted immediately, "Don't say that! Please!"

"Don't give up Mitsuki," Sumire added, "We're so close."

"Yes," Sarada told him as she knelt by his side. "Listen to us! Listen to me! You're strong, Mitsuki, and I believe in y-" Sarada did not finish, since Mitsuki suddenly coughed up blood, some of it smattering onto her face. Blood was now flooding Mitsuki's mouth and he gurgled the dark, viscous, brownish-crimson liquid down his cheeks.

Sumire gasped at the sight as she warned the others. "He's choking on his own blood!"

"Roll him onto his belly, now!" Sakura instructed, reaching out to do so, but Kakashi caught her wrists.

"Remember what Mitsuki himself said," Kakashi warned the four of them. "You might suffer what he's suffering if you touch him."

"Dammit!" Boruto cursed, "What do we do?"

"I don't care," Sarada retorted, preparing to roll Mitsuki over anyway. "I'm not going to let any of my friends die! Not on my watch! Not when I'm going to become the Hokage in the future!"

"Wait!" Sumire held Sarada back. "Sarada, we're not going to let Mitsuki die! But you can't touch him. Not yet at least."

Sarada looked at her with anger and confusion. "Well, do you have any other ideas?"

"Aunt Sakura," Sumire asked, "will soaking him with water dilute or wash away the poison still on him?"

"I don't know," Sakura admitted. "I've never seen this type of gas or weapon used before. But it's worth a try."

"I'll give it a shot," Sumire replied as she formed a water ball, cold to the touch, in her right hand. With her left, she directed the water flow to drench and splash Mitsuki, with special attention given to the directly exposed skin. As the cold water soaked his clothes, the yellow stain began to mix with the water and flow down the street. Mitsuki coughed blood once again, and it combined with the water and gas to create a dark orange water stream, which moved away from Mitsuki and the others. After around half a minute, when Mitsuki had been doused enough, Sumire let the whole water ball fall down onto Mitsuki. Taking that as her cue, Sarada rolled Mitsuki over to his stomach without a second thought.

Mitsuki spat and let the blood flow from his mouth without hindrance. Sarada looked at her mother, with the desperation in Sarada's face clear as day. "We won't make it to the hospital like this. We need to treat him right here, right now." While Sakura knelt down beside Sarada and Sumire to treat Mitsuki, Kakashi worriedly looked ahead down the street.

"Boruto," he motioned, "come here for a second." Boruto looked at Mitsuki, Sarada, Sakura, and Sumire, and then walked over to Kakashi. Boruto noted that to him, Kakashi looked nervous, though he could never really be sure since half of his face was covered.

"I thought that your father and your mentor Sasuke would be up ahead, gathering the evacuees and protecting them from further dangers," Kakashi told him as he knelt down on one knee, with his hand on the ground. "But I don't see them there. I don't hear them, nor do I hear anyone… It's far too quiet…"

Boruto stared ahead, and saw no one there. "Are the evacuees supposed to be there?"

"Yes, they should be there, if they followed the disaster drills. A lot of people should be up ahead."

Boruto noticed something in the distance and squinted his eyes. It was hardly noticeable from their vantage point, but he could have sworn that he had seen wisps of the yellow gas coming around the corner.

"Kakashi-sensei… I think there's a huge problem over there. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Kakashi stood up and spotted a barely-noticeable thin yellow mist hanging above the ground, spreading across the street, far from where they were. As they looked on at the insidious, low-hanging, misty cloud, they also heard the sound of explosions and collapsing rocks from farther away.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Kawaki made his way up the high plateau near Konoha's old center, which was aptly named the Hokage Rock for the stone faces of past and present Hokages. He prepared his chakra and Karma seal, which now glowed like a red tattoo all over his body. He approached the edge of the cliff, and glanced behind him; a lot of the skyscrapers around had been hit and damaged by the shelling, and many of them had either collapsed already or were leaning dangerously close to tipping and falling over. The fires were raging in the industrial and residential areas as well, and from time to time some unexploded shells would be ignited and detonated.

Kawaki jumped onto the first face, jumped off towards the second, and blasted the first face apart with powerful, pure chakra beam from his activated seal. The first Hokage's face was wrecked, as everything under the nose was now gone. "If this doesn't break their morale," he reasoned with himself, "nothing ever will."

He turned to the third rock face and nearly annihilated it. He jumped to the remaining overhang of the third face, which used to be the chin area, and looked out at the city below him. He saw the fires, the black smoke, the ruins, the mustard gas, the destruction, and the death. "_Truly," _he thought,_ "if the spirit, the morale, and the will of Konoha and its ninja would not be broken before the break of dawn, as his plan entailed, they never will."_

Kawaki checked his trusty watch, which showed the time of 5:54 am, a few minutes before dawn. He looked up and saw the night sky, which had been pitch black and so starry only a few minutes ago, now begin to have a slight hue of dark red. Proud of his handiwork, he kept up his barrage, destroying the second, fourth, and fifth faces, all in the same manner, though with varying amounts and locations of damage. Now he stood on the partially damaged Sixth Hokage's head, preparing to unleash a final salvo to disfigure both the sixth and seventh faces at the same time. He jumped up, spun in the air, and fired his red laser-looking chakra beam. The right half of Kakashi's stone face was fully obliterated, as well as part, but as he directed his blast to Naruto's face, somebody attacked him from above, forcing him to redirect and lift his arms to block the strike. The laser beam cut out prematurely, but not before it destroyed the bottom right side of the seventh stone face on the Hokage Rock.

"Well," Kawaki judged his own work upon seeing the destruction, "that actually turned out great." He then turned to the person who had tried to block his shot, and he was filled with surprise.

"…Kawaki…" The blonde ninja in front of him looked astounded and incredulous. His scar was visible, as was the Jougan in his right eye, and the Karma seal that looked identical to his.

"…Boruto." Kawaki acknowledged, as he looked to the eastern skies. The hue of dark red from a few minutes ago had transformed into a colorful palette of bright scarlet and orange-yellow. Then, as he looked on, the first rays of the sun breached above the horizon. The dawn had risen on Konoha once again. He sighed in partial defeat and focused back at Boruto.

"…Why? Why would you do this?"

"Because your people turned on me. Your people made me suffer needlessly. They attacked me, insulted me, and tried to make my life hell here. Even though you, your friends, and your father all accepted me, the people of Konoha as a whole did not. Do you have any idea how much suffering and abuse I got from simply living here?"

"…No," Boruto replied, looking down. "I failed to keep in touch with you. That is my fault too. But that doesn't make you right either. I will not let Konoha fall, not to Kara, and definitely not to you." He looked out at the blazing ruins of Konoha, dawn's first light shining on it once again. He drew his katana out from its scabbard. "I found this on the ground near the square. This is my master's blade… Where is Uncle Sasuke? Where is Dad?"

"They're not dead," Kawaki reassured him, "if that's what you're asking. I simply eliminated them temporarily from the situation. They'll be back soon enough, once your Uncle Sasuke regains his chakra."

With that, Kawaki pulled out his extendable staff from his backpack, and tossed his backpack aside. He fixed his iron staff to its full length, and ran towards Boruto, who likewise ran towards him. They met at the center of Naruto's broken stone face, a storm of steel clashing and ringing. They parried each other's strikes and backed away for a short moment.

"You think by destroying the Stone Faces of the Hokages," Boruto questioned his adopted brother, "you'll break our will? Kawaki, we can rebuild them so easily."

"For your own information, brother," Kawaki hissed emphatically, "that's not the only thing I destroyed. I bombed the central marketplace, the Kaminarimon Company Communications Towers, my own apartment building, the Konoha Academy, and even the Hokage Residence. And on the other hand, I just want revenge for all the shit I put up with from these damned arrogant, worthless people of Konoha, and you shinobi who protect them and keep them in power and wealth."

Boruto was stunned. "So… you were the one who started the attack… and you were the one who killed so many people in the marketplace…"

"It's their fault for not running away and evacuating when they were told to," Kawaki scoffed. "And it's also their fault that they fucked with me. I will never forgive them. They're all evil in my eyes, either for showering me with hate, or for doing nothing to prevent their peers from doing so."

"Enough!" Boruto summoned six clones and ordered them to charge at Kawaki near-simultaneously, only for Kawaki to masterfully get rid of all the clones with sweeping motions of his fully extended metallic rod.

"Kawaki… I take it that," Boruto quoted Kara's mantra, "for you, _'The age of the shinobi is over'?"_ In a split-second, the real Boruto lunged at him, only for Kawaki to counter once again, slamming his solid metal rod into Boruto's chest and sending him flying backwards. Boruto stabbed the rock face with Sasuke's katana to keep himself from falling off. "I didn't think you'd go this far, Kawaki."

Kawaki looked at him with pity, but sternly replied to him, "I'll send you where I sent the Seventh Hokage, Boruto." Right now, Kawaki was not enjoying battling against his former brother-in-arms, although in his mind Kawaki knew it was necessary. _"He sided with the people who fucked my new life," _Kawaki inwardly justified,_ "my one best chance to start a new life. Those people are my enemies, and therefore… Boruto is an enemy too…"_

Stressed, Boruto breathed long and deep, as he felt the futility of trying to convince the person he once thought of his brother-figure to stop. Still, Boruto asked one last time, "Was this the only possible outcome?"

"Yes… that's right." Kawaki powered up his Karma Seal one more time, and it glowed blood red. "The age of the shinobi… is over! It has to end!"

"No," Boruto muttered, pulling out his master's headband, which he had found it along with the sword. As he tied the ninja headband around his forehead, Boruto defiantly asserted, "I'm… still a shinobi!" Boruto's identical Karma Seal glowed a fierce shade of midnight blue, and it flowed and pulsated from his face to his arms.

In the dim and fickle light of the slowly rising sun, with the dust dancing and the smoke floating around them, the two former brothers fought for the fate of Konoha.

*******XXXXXXX*******

For what felt like many hours, Naruto and Sasuke had been falling through a seemingly never-ending vortex of darkness interspersed with specks of starlight. At last, the two shinobi fell through the other end and landed on a dusty, off-white and grayish powdery surface. Naruto immediately realized where he and Sasuke had ended up.

"I've been here before… We're on the moon."

Sasuke sat up and thought about what he heard Urashiki say. He realized what that meant. "Kawaki…" Sasuke concluded as he looked to Naruto, "he betrayed us."

"What? What makes you think that?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"I heard Urashiki mention his name," Sasuke replied as he grasped some dust in his hand, letting it flow through the cracks between his fingers. "And I didn't detect any other distinct chakra source when that surprise portal hit us back in Konoha, so that rules out other Kara members. From what you've told me about Kawaki, he has ninja technology riddled throughout his entire body? And… he was behind us…"

Naruto realized what Sasuke was implying. Still, he refused to believe it. "Kawaki is a good person inside," Naruto interrupted by trying to reaffirm his belief in Kawaki. "Sometimes he may be misled, and sometimes his way of thinking is contrary to ours, but he's not an evil person. Not by a long shot. He wouldn't do this…"

Sasuke stood and dusted himself off, then looked around in this alien environment. While scanning the greyish dusty plains littered with craters, and the blackness of space on the horizon, he noticed through his Rinnegan a small spike of concentrated chakra quite a distance from them. He focused both his eyes on the abnormality and immediately tensed up. "Naruto," Sasuke asked, the uneasiness obvious in his voice, "what exactly happened years ago, to the Otsusuki that you fought with here over Hinata?"

"You mean Toneri?" Naruto tried to remember what happened in the aftermath of their fight for Hinata. "He's still here as far as I know, but don't' worry; he's not a threat to us anymore. Why? Do you see him?"

"I'm sensing the characteristic signature of an Otsusuki, around 7 kilometers away from us in that direction," Sasuke replied as he pointed towards the disturbance he felt.

"Maybe he could help us find another way back to Konoha," Naruto eagerly suggested as he quickly got up on his feet. "One that doesn't have to rely on your Rinnegan. You still don't have nearly enough chakra to send us back yet."

Sasuke nodded, and the two started running towards the location where Sasuke had sensed Toneri. After they crested over the final hill of dusty moon rock, they saw Toneri looking away from them, seemingly out into the dark abyss of space that was filled with specks of brilliant light that were the other plants and celestial bodies of their solar system, as well as faraway stars from distant galaxies spread throughout the entire universe.

However, as Naruto approached Toneri, he realized that the Otsusuki had been turned into solid stone. "What happened to you?" Naruto asked in disbelief as he felt Toneri's rock-hard, stone-cold clothes.

Sasuke examined Toneri with his Rinnegan. "It's like he's frozen in time. Did you guys do this to him?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it wasn't us. Maybe he fought someone else? Is it a genjutsu?"

"I don't know, but I'll try something." Sasuke forced Toneri's eyelids open and used both his Sharingan and Rinnegan to try and dispel the jutsu. Initially nothing happened, but after about ten seconds, Sasuke's Rinnegan finally kicked in and released Toneri. Just after the color returned to Toneri's skin and clothes, he immediately collapsed to the ground, his breathing uneven and wheezing.

"Easy there," Naruto assured, as he gently laid his hand on Toneri's shoulder. However, upon touching Toneri, Kurama noticed something odd.

"It's like he's dying," Kurama informed Naruto and Sasuke. "His energy and chakra level is fading fast."

"Sasuke," Naruto looked in confusion, "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing, I just did the normal procedure for waking him up from a genjutsu. I may have exerted too much force into it, but even that shouldn't be enough to kill him."

"…Boruto?" Naruto and Sasuke looked at Toneri, shocked and bewildered as he called out Boruto's name.

"How do you know my son's name?"

Toneri's eyes slowly focused on him. "Naruto… why are you here? How did you get here this time?"

"We were warped here by Urashiki Otsusuki. What happened to you?"

Toneri tried to catch his breath, while Naruto gave some chakra from Kurama to Toneri to help him recover. "Dammit… I held off those three Otsusukis… from getting to our dimension for as long as I could… But Urashiki attacked me… and then froze me in time… It felt like I was trapped for 10000 years… I tried to buy Boruto as much time to truly become a shinobi and a hero… How is he?"

Naruto asked again, "How do you know Boruto? And what do you mean by you bought him time to become a hero?"

"He is a hero already," Sasuke added. "He was the one who defeated Momoshiki and Kinshiki."

Toneri gave a look of surprise and smiled weakly. "I chose Boruto to save the world. I was the one who implanted the Jougan, the most special derivative of the Byakugan, into him, while he was still in Hinata's womb."

Naruto was dumbfounded at that revelation. "You're the one who he said appeared to him in his dreams? Why… why did you do that?"

"I did it as both an olive branch… an apology for what I did to you and Hinata all those years ago," Toneri explained, "and as a blessing to your son." Toneri closed his eyes and asked Naruto, "Has she… forgiven me?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know for sure, but as long as you stay alive, Sasuke and I will get you to Konoha. There, we can treat you further, and you can ask Hinata yourself."

Toneri paused as he absorbed what Naruto had told him. He then nodded. "Thank you… for trusting me…"

"Of course," Naruto grinned. "Now, how do we get back to Konoha? Do you know of any way we can teleport back?"

Toneri tenderly shook his head. "Unless you have a Rinnegan and enough chakra… or something else that forms portals in spacetime… we're stuck here for a long while…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Kawaki… it's over…"

The two shinobi stood facing each other on opposite ends of the Hokage Rock; Boruto was standing on what remained of his father's rock face, panting hard and weakly grasping Sasuke's katana. Meanwhile, Kawaki knelt on the First Hokage's rock face while grasping the edge of the plateau above. He too was exhausted, and he looked to the widespread destruction below them, which was eerily highlighted by the rising sun and the settling clouds of brownish dust and yellowish gas.

"It's not over yet, you asshole," Kawaki spat back to Boruto. "My real father, my true father, will bring your city and your ninja way to ruin. I will see this done. I will have my vengeance, I swear it."

Boruto shook his head and closed his eyes. He then quoted a lesson taught to him a long time ago. "You will never break the hardest rock in the world," he told his adopted brother Kawaki. "You will never break our bedrock, our wills, the fires inside our hearts. We are shinobi, and even as our ways will change over time, our spirits will always remain the same."

Kawaki confidently countered, "Give it enough time and force, and even the tallest mountains will erode away. Spray enough water and smother it with dirt, and even the strongest wildfires will be doused and put out. Nothing lasts forever, as evolution and progress governs over all. The end of the shinobi will come soon enough, and with it the end of the oppression and hatred that I endured from Konoha."

Without warning, Kawaki reactivated his Karma seal, and in an instant, he aimed and fired a blast beam of pure chakra at Boruto. Boruto was able to absorb it at the last moment with his own Karma seal, but that absorption took its toll on Boruto, as it usually did. Boruto fell to one knee, and Kawaki took that as his opportunity to strike, but Boruto saw that he inexplicably stopped just as he began to run towards him. "Dammit… you're a lucky guy."

At that moment, they heard Sumire's familiar voice calling out to Boruto, followed by Sarada's.

"Boruto-kun! Are you okay?"

"Hang on, Boruto! We're coming to help!"

The blonde shinobi prodigy turned his head and saw the two kunoichi running as fast as they could towards him. "Boruto-kun," Sumire panted out of breath as they reached him, "thank goodness you're alive… Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Sumire… Just tired… How's Mitsuki?"

"We treated Mitsuki… and stabilized his condition temporarily… After that, we rushed him to the hospital…" Sarada tried to catch her breath while trying to talk at the same time. "Mom is there with him… she's treating him right now…"

"This can wait," Boruto interrupted her. "We still have a battle to win." However, when Boruto looked back at his adopted brother, Kawaki had already formed a rectangular, orange-hued portal behind himself. "Or not."

Sarada and Sumire gasped in shock. "Kawaki?"

"The only thing that doesn't change in the world is change itself," Kawaki opined before giving his parting shot. "And the world is changing. Evolution and Progress will leave you all behind." With that, Kawaki jumped backwards and disappeared into his own portal, which dissipated the second after he went through.

"Dammit Kawaki…" Boruto crumpled to the ground, sat on the cliffside, and faced the slowly rising sun. This had been a familiar spot for him in years past to spend his free time looking at Konoha. But now, what had been his beautiful city was reduced to the rubble of destroyed houses, fires that were spreading unchecked, poison gas that did not go away, and tall buildings that looked close to tipping over. His thoughts turned to the events that had just taken place within the past hour. Sarada, Sumire, and Sakura had stayed behind at the street corner to give Mitsuki urgent treatment and get him somewhat stable before they would go straight to the hospital. Boruto and Kakashi went ahead to the supposed emergency evacuation area of Konoha, the plaza two blocks away from the Konoha Academy, only to find either many citizens of Konoha strewn across the gassed plaza, either already dead or poisoned and unconscious. There was no sign at all of his father or his master, save for Sasuke's katana, which lay on the cold ground. Part of the nearby Academy campus, the Chemistry Wing, had exploded and was blazing luminously against the night sky. On the top of the nearby Hokage Rock, they saw and heard explosions that obliterated the stone faces of their former Hokage. Kakashi stayed behind to try and save as many people as he could from the yellow, lethal, poisonous gas, while Boruto confronted the bomber, who had turned out to be Kawaki, on his own.

"Boruto," Sarada questioned her trusted friend, "Kawaki was part of Kara this whole time?"

"No," Boruto replied. "He rejoined them after reaching his breaking point… after all of Konoha turned against him, for being born… for who his father is, and for who he is…"

"The very same thing would have happened to me too," Sumire sighed in sorrow as she knelt beside Boruto and gazed at the victorious sunrise. "If Lord Seventh, Sai, or anyone else, revealed that my father was a Danzo loyalist and the last head scientist of the Root Organization…"

Sarada crouched behind them, placed her hands on their shoulders, and gripped on them encouragingly. "At least we won… We drove Kara from the city… we helped Konoha live to see another day…"

Boruto and Sumire nodded. For a while, the three close friends stayed there looking at the sun tracing out its daily vertical path."After we got Mitsuki to the hospital," Sarada continued her story to Boruto and Sumire, "Kakashi-sensei rushed to the hospital with a whole bunch of people who'd been poisoned by the gas too."

"Yeah, those were the people that Dad and Master Sasuke were supposed to be protecting. But I didn't see them anywhere… I just saw Master Sasuke's sword on the ground there."

Sarada nodded. "Kakashi-sensei filled us in just before we left… I really hope that Dad and Lord Seventh are okay…"

Boruto reasoned, "Kawaki transported and trapped Dad and Master Sasuke in another dimension, or somewhere far away, to take them out of the equation for a while. He used his portals, just like the one he used to escape. That's how I'm sure that they're still alive."

"Kakashi-sensei had also told us that you'd gone on alone to fight another Kara Member," Sumire informed Boruto. "Sarada and I got really worried about you, so we ran here as fast as we could to help out."

"And it's a great thing you both came in time," Boruto responded. "I felt that you two coming to help me made Kawaki hesitate in attacking me, and also compelled him to retreat."

Sarada stood up and offered her hands to her two close friends. "We should get going. I'm sure the others are looking for us."

Sumire and Boruto each grabbed one of Sarada's outstretched hands, and she pulled them up to their feet. "Most of our friends will probably be at the Academy campus, the Konoha Hospital, or in front of the Hokage Mansion," Sumire tried to recall her previous memorization of the city's old evacuation routes, which she had tried to use to her advantage when she had attacked Konoha with Nue years prior.

"I have a feeling they're at the Hokage Mansion right now," Sarada specified further. "I think we should head there first."

Sumire deferred to Sarada. "Well, you know the current evacuation routes and areas much better than I do. I knew the old ones well, but they changed them drastically after Nue and I attacked the city."

"By the way," Boruto requested the two girls, "please don't tell Mom, or my sister, or anyone else just yet. This is just not the time for it."

The two kunoichi looked at each other for a moment and accepted Boruto's request. "Okay then," they both said in unison, "we promise we won't tell anyone."

*******XXXXXXX*******

When Boruto, Sarada, and Sumire arrived in front on the burnt out Hokage Mansion, there was a thronging crowd of terrified, traumatized, and desperate citizens gathering around a few jonin, namely Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Hanabi, and a few others. They were giving out protective gas masks to the people, masks that looked very similar to Ame-style re-breathers, which would filter out the toxic chemicals and keep the people using them from breathing the deadly gases in.

The three also saw most of their friends nearby, lying down on the ground in the shade of a huge mango tree, one that had luckily escaped the carnage of the previous night and early morning. Inojin and Himawari were leaning against the wide barky trunk, exhausted and holding hands, while on the other side of the tree, Wasabi was healing Namida, who looked to have a broken nose and orbital bone. On the other hand, Chocho, Iwabe, and Metal were asleep on the benches beside the tree. However, Denki, Shikadai, Ryogi, and Mitsuki were missing. Mitsuki, and presumably Shikadai, were at the hospital, and if Shikadai was at the hospital, Ryogi was likely there as well accompanying his best friend. Still, that left Denki totally unaccounted for, but before Boruto could give any more thought to the matter, Konohamaru called out to him.

"Boruto!" The two senseis ran towards Boruto, Sarada, and Sumire, enveloping them in a squeezing group hug.

Hanabi cried tears of relief. "You guys are all okay… Thank goodness…"

"Boruto," Konohamaru asked his student, "where is your father? The people of Konoha desperately need him right now-"

Team 7's sensei stopped mid-question when he noticed that Boruto was holding Sasuke's sword in his hand. "Ohh no…" He knew that Naruto and Sasuke were fighting together, and if something had happened Sasuke, the same thing surely happened to Naruto as well. "No…"

"Wait! Dad's not dead!" Boruto tried to explain to a distraught Konohamaru. "Master Sasuke isn't either! They're both alive! I think they were warped to a faraway place by…" Boruto very nearly revealed by accident the secret that he had made Sarada and Sumire swear not to tell, but he managed to catch himself in time. "By… another Kara member… They can only teleport back when Master Sasuke is ready, when he has more than enough chakra for his Rinnegan to work! So for now, they may be stuck there, wherever they are…"

"But how can you be so sure that your Master Sasuke survived?" Konohamaru disregarded Boruto's reasoning. "How can you be sure that he is still in shape to fight or use his Time-Space Ninjutsu?"

Boruto knew that if he explained further, Kawaki would be the obvious culprit. He could not bring himself to betray his brother, not after everything Kawaki had suffered without Boruto's support, so he kept silent instead.

"If Sasuke is even incapacitated," Konohamaru continued, "that will leave Naruto… Lord Hokage… stranded with no way to get back. It will be fortunate if Sasuke is alive and well, but if he's not, Naruto is trapped. And I must fulfill his final request to me."

"Konohamaru-sensei," Sarada asked, "what did he last tell you?"

Hanabi spoke for her boyfriend by paraphrasing her brother-in-law. "If anything bad happens to Naruto and Sasuke, Konohamaru is the next Hokage. And you, Sarada, should come after him. That's what Naruto would have wanted to happen."

"I will take the mantle of Hokage," Konohamaru gloomily affirmed his decision to follow Naruto's orders. He walked up to the coronation stand nearby. Hanabi looked depressed and stressed, and mumbled an apology to the three younger ninja, before running up the stairs of the raised white platform after her boyfriend. When the crowd saw Konohamaru, grandson of the Third Hokage and the Hokage-apparent after the Seventh Hokage, walk up the steps of the Coronation Platform of the Hokages, the people immediately followed him and pooled at its base, as if looking to Konohamaru for clarity and hope.

"People of Konoha," Hanabi announced to the public. "Citizens of the Land of Fire… It is with a heavy heart that I tell you… Lord Seventh is currently missing in action." A loud gasping murmur rippled through the crowd, peppered with curses and shrieks of horror. But Hanabi persevered, even though her heart was aching for her brother-in-law. "Per Naruto's instructions, as of this exact moment, 7:58 am on the Eighth of June, I hereby name Konohamaru Sarutobi as the Eighth Hokage."

The crowd roared in applause and approval. _"This is actually my second time being crowned as Hokage,"_ Konohamaru remembered and nearly smiled after reliving that memory. _"The first time, I had to fill in for Naruto, since he'd been knocked out by Himawari that same day, after she unlocked her Byakugan."_

Hanabi handed Konohamaru the microphone, and the newly installed Eighth Hokage prepared to deliver a completely unplanned and unrehearsed inaugural address. "I admit," he told his fellow citizens, "I don't like how this happened. I'm not happy. I want to see my friend, my mentor, my Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki! I want him to return safely! But I know that this city, this nation, needs a leader to guide them through these dark times. We need a leader to rise to the occasion, unite the people, and give us energy and hope that tomorrow will be a better day, and the days after tomorrow even better! I promise to fulfill this duty to the best of my abilities! For Grandpa… for Naruto… I swear it!"

* * *

_**Wow... sooo... that's the end of this arc! The fallout from the Battle of Konoha, along with the continuation of the Kara Offensive, will be followed up on in the next few chapters, along with Naruto and Sasuke (and Toneri) going back to Konoha, as well as the arc I had promised long ago: Sumire's Birthday! (Chapters 11-14 or so?) All comments are welcomed freely (except trolls of course!). **_

_(In the comments) What do you guys think about:_

_1) Mitsuki's condition after being exposed to mustard gas? :'(_

_2) **Mustard Gas** being used as a chemical weapon? Modern times, modern problems =O_

_3) Kawaki vs Boruto? =O =O =O_

_4) Naruto and Sasuke meeting up with both Urashiki and Toneri? XD_

_5) Konohamaru becoming the Eighth Hokage? =D_

_**As I previously mentioned, stay tuned for the next chapter, Chapter 9: Entropy. See you next Wednesday! (*Philippine Time XD)**_


	9. Entropy

_**Hello guys! I'm back with another chapter! Hooray! **__**I'm sorry I was a bit late with the upload though, I fell asleep too early, before I was able to upload hahaha huhuhu :'(**_

_**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! There are shocking and intriguing things in store =O**_

_**PS: All comments are welcome hehee! =D**_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Entropy**

Two men ran in silence through the shadows of a thick forest. The sun was rising higher in the sky, and as the two men made it to a clearing, they encountered three others in similar clothing, who were resting and drinking by the side of a meandering river.

Jigen remarked, "You made it. Delta, Grado, and Amado."

"Jigen, Koji," Delta greeted them back as she nodded to them both. "You two survived as well. What about your son?"

"He did his job, and did it well," Jigen told them. "He's on his way, but he's… taking a different route, so to speak, to throw Konoha off of us."

The five of them sat quietly along the peaceful riverside, resting and gathering their strength and stamina for the next leg of their return journey.

"Delta," Koji whispered in her ear, "may I have a word in private? You know, just the two of us?"

Delta was caught slightly off-guard, but immediately agreed to it. Koji took her hand and pulled her back up to her feet, and the two partners jogged through the dark roofed forest. Grado and Amado looked at them leaving and had a feeling about what was going to happen, so they stayed behind and continued their rest. Jigen too noticed them leaving out of the corner of his eye, but he was far too busy coordinating the assaults on the other major cities by his radio earpiece to pay much attention.

After five minutes of heading deeper into the thick misty forest, Koji and Delta stopped and leaned against the wide birch tree trunks. Delta's mind raced, and her thoughts, which were now beginning to be racy, had turned her horny. This would not be the first time that Koji and Delta had sex, far from it, even if they were on missions. Delta herself was not averse to it. Even though he was rather old, he still knew every trick in the book on how to please women. He was truly the perverted one of the Three Legendary Sannin.

Delta was giddy and looking forward to it, even if it would only be a short burst of ecstasy. She even remembered Koji's words to her when they first had sex, while they were taking a break from a long and hard mission. _"There's nothing like a good fight to get you in the mood for fucking, and nothing like a great fucking to prep you up for the next fight. That way, the two work well together."_

However, Koji crossed his arms and looked straight into Delta's eyes. "I know that you spared the two kunoichi you faced… Wasabi and Namida?" he revealed to the blonde Kara Inner.

Stunned and shocked momentarily, Delta then put up her guard and prepared to fight her partner. But he continued, "Don't worry, I don't particularly care if you did. In fact, I'm taking quite a liking to this new generation. I think they can work and fight for the same causes as we do."

"What?" Delta was puzzled. "What do you mean? Last night, you almost killed your former student, Naruto Uzumaki, the Hokage, yet you say you would place your faith in his children and their generation?"

Koji explained, "First, let me make it very clear that I am disillusioned with Naruto Uzumaki. I no longer have faith in my former pupil in his goal to change the world. Why? Because in my eyes, the main issues that have plagued the world for the past decades and centuries, save for a few good exceptions, have largely stayed the same. Social and economic injustice still runs rampant in many nations. Both apathy and fear are still allowed to persist. And discrimination, whether it is ethnic, social, economic, sexist, or gender, is now arguably at an all-time high. Things have either stayed the same or have become worse."

Delta nodded and agreed with his assessment. "Those who cannot fight for themselves, the poor and the minorities, are abused even more nowadays. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer."

"And second," Koji admitted, "it was far from a fatal strike that I gave to my former student. I had remembered that the Nine Tails gives him extraordinarily potent healing powers, and that even my stab at his chest would not likely be lethal due to that healing ability. With that being said, even I was surprised by how quickly Naruto had recovered. According to Grado, who partially saw what had happened, the purple-haired kunoichi, Sumire Shigaraki, helped hasten his healing process. Apparently, she did this by allowing her artificial summoning creature, the Nue, to absorb chakra from its surroundings, store it in itself, and then transfer it into Naruto."

"That must be an amazing summoning," Delta noted with a curious smile. "It has such versatile powers, and its potential is vast due to its chakra storing and routing abilities."

Koji nodded in agreement and squatted, running his finger on the side of a low-lying leaf. "Has Jigen ever told you about the time that he brought me back?"

"You mean, back from the dead?" Delta shook her head. "No he hasn't. You haven't told me that story either."

"Because only Jigen knows the full story. I only remember… bits and pieces… of what happened… and of the final moments of my previous life."

"What do you remember?"

Koji paused for a while, lowering his head far forward and lightly humming to himself. "I can recall that my former student, Nagato Uzumaki… Pain… he had more or less mortally wounded me… I remember that I fell through into the waters of Ame Lake… I sunk deeper and deeper, and the light of the gloomy and raincloud-covered sun, gleaming in the perfectly blue water, faded slowly from my eyes…"

"Darkness took me," Kashin Koji continued, "and I strayed out of thought and time… Stars wheeled overhead… Galaxies flew by… And every day that I spent in the other side… was as long as the life-age of the Earth… But it was not the end. Out of nowhere, I felt life in me again… Suddenly, I breathed my first breath in nearly twenty years… And the first thing my eyes saw when they opened was Jigen, his Karma Seal glowing activated, flowing an immense amount of chakra into me, holding me close on the sands beside Lake Ame…"

"I've been sent back here, until my task is done. To help Jigen's goal… no, my goal… to truly change the world for the better, so the generations that follow us will not have to experience the cruel world as it is now."

"At first, I thought this new generation would be just like the old one," Koji reassured his blonde partner, "but I have faith in this new generation, that they can actually help us to finally solve the longstanding, persistent, and wicked issues of this world… to help all of us bring about true change that this world of ours desperately needs… After all," he caressed her blonde curly hair softly, "your real name is Vandesdelta, which means, 'one who will achieve great change'. And I promise you, I will help you, this generation, and this world, finally achieve this change." Delta nodded and thanked him.

"Now, with that out of the way," Koji licked his lips and pulled Delta's hips towards to his. He breathed seductively in her ear. "We have lots of time… and nobody can hear us here… Delta… I want you now… love…"

This nudged Delta back into the mood, and she giggled when he suckled on her neck. "Shit… You always manage… to make me… so excited for you… for this…" She relented as she zipped down her green and purple V-necked suit. "Koji… please love…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

"You guys finally came back," Grado greeted Delta and Kashin Koji when they came back. The two's clothes were creased and wrinkled, their hair wild and disheveled, and their faces sweaty and oily, but they were both glowing in ethereal bliss. He snickered and winked knowingly at Delta, but aside from that returned to his thoughts.

"Did you two… have fun?" Amado metaphorically poked at Delta, who at first was irritated by this line of questioning. But then, she sighed and nodded to her second best friend in the organization, not to mention her handler, caretaker, and repair mechanic, all in one.

"By the way, we need to elect new Inners," Kashin Koji reminded Jigen as he sat beside the leader of Kara. "We need four more for the quorum."

"I am aware of that," Jigen replied. "But that will happen once we've dug in Ryutan, and once the rest of the reinforcements return from their attacks on other cities. For now, we must focus on causing as much damage and chaos as we can. The attacks that have not yet failed must press on."

"But our attack on Konoha was a disaster," Delta pointed out. "We were routed, four of the Inners were killed, and yet Konoha still stands. I highly doubt that other powerful cities and nations will fall to mere Outers."

Jigen turned to her. "But to destroy Konoha fully is not the be-all, end-all, of our plans. At least, not yet."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"It's simple," Jigen stated as he stood up, holding some gray pebbles in his hand. "It's not necessary for Konoha, Suna, Iwa, or any of the other large and powerful cities and their states to immediately fall, for our plan to succeed. Because… they will fall in due time…" He threw one of smaller pebbles into the river. It bounced twice before sinking fully and forming ripples on the river surface.

Delta was still confused. "How can you be so sure?"

Jigen inhaled deeply. "The simultaneous attacks we launched on all the major cities and nations last night will lead to those nations overextending their lines and convince them to focus on defending their own, rather than lending aid to each other right away. Self-preservation and caring more for your own kin than far-off acquaintances is simple human nature, of course. That lack of immediate aid and teamwork within the Shinobi Union will only cause more friction and loss of that vital trust within their alliance. Soon enough, once another catastrophe hits and they once again fail to help each other sufficiently, they will lose all faith in the system they themselves have created, and they shall inevitably turn on each other. Chaos will reign as people will choose what is best for themselves alone, rather than what is best for all shinobi. Once that happens… entropy shall finally prevail."

Koji, Delta, and Grado fell silent over his soliloquy, but Amado spoke up. "Entropy? What does entropy have to do with this?"

"Yes, Entropy." Jigen threw a larger stone into the river, this time making a bigger splash after having skipped thrice on the water surface. "Chemistry and Physics 101. Entropy: The gradual, unavoidable, inevitable tendency of any system, or anything at all, to end up in chaos and decline." He then threw the last pebble straight down into the river, making a huge splash of water. "It is a measure of disorder and chaos… and also of equilibrium and balance… The more chaotic something is, the more it is in equilibrium. Perfect equilibrium, the perfect balance of all life, is itself the result of the very highest levels of entropy."

"Kashin Koji," Jigen continued, "mark all significant people in the battle from hours past as a target for capture or elimination. I believe we have already marked Boruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha, and Mitsuki, son of Orochimaru, in our past encounters with them, am I correct?"

Kashin Koji simply nodded. "Good," Jigen continued. "From what Kawaki has told me, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha will not die today, so put them on the list too; same with Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Uchiha, Hinata Uzumaki, and the rest of their old war heroes. And who was the girl with purple hair and the unique summoning creature?"

"Sumire Kakei, or Shigaraki," Kashin Koji answered. "She worked with Boruto and the others to get Kawaki to Konoha years ago."

"Put her on the list too. Although, preferably alive. I would like to study her and her creature's abilities and capabilities." Jigen then turned to the others. "Is there anyone else that you would add to our interest list?"

Delta momentarily thought about saying the names of Wasabi and Namida, although she immediately brushed the thought out of her mind. "No, no one else."

Jigen concluded, "We must continue our journey now. Delta and Amado, return to the hideout and coordinate the remaining attacks from there. Grado, Koji, and I will journey on to Ryutan."

Delta and Amado quickly stood up and dusted their cloaks off. "Alright then. Good luck to you guys," Amado wished unto them.

"Koji," Delta looked to her partner and lover. "Stay safe. See you soon, okay?" Koji nodded and returned the goodbye, and the two split groups headed in opposite directions.

*******XXXXXXX*******

When Jigen, Grado, and Koji arrived within sight of Ryutan, they saw pitch-black smoke rising from inside the city.

Grado commented, "It looks like we're late to the party. It seems Ryutan is already falling."

"But it has not fallen just yet," Jigen countered.

The three men continued walking until they reached the city's entrance. There at the gate stood some teams of Kara Outers, each with four to six members, resting and preparing to join the assault. Further inside, both brave and terrified screams alike echoed throughout the city. One of the resting besiegers, an older man with pale skin, a white mustache and beard, stood up and approached his newly arrived superiors. "Lord Jigen, Ryutan should fall within the half-hour."

"General Smith, the very first Kara Outer of foreign Merikhan descent," Jigen greeted him back. "You have done great work. But as much as possible, don't destroy everything. We can make this a forward base of operations if time allows us. In the worst-case scenario, we can at least gather all the data, intelligence, and technology that we can from this city, before we destroy its usefulness to the enemy."

The old foreign general nodded and was about to reply when the public address system weakly crackled with static, followed by a weak voice. _"Citizens and defenders of Ryutan, this is your mayor speaking. In order to spare our city from any more needless destruction, and to spare our people from any more needless deaths, I hereby declare Ryutan as… an open city. I urge you all now to lay down your weapons and surrender the city to the enemy, such that the fighting may come to an end."_

Spontaneous bouts of cheers emanated from all around Ryutan as victorious Kara shinobi started herding and parading the surrendered Ryutan defenders through the streets. "They've given up," Grado stated as he and the others entered the city.

"Of course," Koji replied to him. "There was not much resistance here simply because we made the Land of Fire focus solely on defending Konoha."

"What will we do to these citizens?" Smith asked Jigen. "And of all those here who opposed us?"

Jigen turned to him with a stoic face. "We must set an example, so that they fear us and will not dare rise up against us. I will leave it to you to decide the punishment. Whatever you decide, I will authorize it."

Smith smiled maliciously and addressed Jigen, Koji, and his own subordinates. "Round up all those who fought against us, all those who have just surrendered, and bring them to the town square. Aside from that, bring everyone over the age of ten; men, women, and children, that you can still find in this godforsaken city. We will teach them what it means to choose the wrong side in this war."

"Yes sir!" The other Kara members fanned out to gather as many people as they could find and drag them to the town square.

After an hour, more than ten thousand people were forcibly crowded into the center of the city, surrounded by many heavily armed Kara Outers.

"Turn Ryutan into a howling wilderness!" Smith exhorted his fellow fighters. "That is indeed what I want! However, Lord Jigen has requested me to keep Ryutan itself intact. But he never told me anything about its people. Therefore, my order is simple: Kill every citizen of Ryutan over the age of ten! The more you kill, the happier I will be!"

Horrified screams were punctuated by the nonstop sound of bullets being indiscriminately fired into the thronging mass of people. Some of the Outers were holding back the citizens trying to flee, slashing and stabbing at them with swords and knives. Still, other citizens were able to overpower their captors at certain points, and they were able to flee to other parts of the city. Explosives were thrown into the crowd, blasting many unfortunate people to pieces. When the guns stopped firing, around four thousand Ryutan citizens lay dead or wounded, and the blood was knee deep in certain areas of the square, as bodies and parts piled up on top of each other. The dead, dying, and hiding, all lay mixed and blended in well on the stony floor in a gruesome projection of power for Kara.

"Many citizens were able to escape the massacre," Koji commented as he looked towards Jigen. "Could be above two thousand or so."

"It will all be according to plan," Jigen replied coolly. "They will seek the last holdouts for shelter. Not everyone surrendered just because their mayor asked them to, I'm sure of it."

As Jigen turned back around to survey the carnage, Kawaki arrived in Ryutan through a portal. He was bruised, battered, and weakened, but alive. "Perfect," Jigen continued as he smiled and embraced his adopted son. "It is now high time that we take the last bastions of resistance in Ryutan. In the blood of this city, in the burning midday sun, we shall elect new Inners, as we must complete the Ten."

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Come in! Quickly!" Katasuke, Akita, and the remaining scientists in the Advanced Technology Research Institute were guiding and letting in the survivors of the Kara attack and the massacre that followed. Katasuke requested the many survivors who crowded the first floor lobby and the balconies and hallways of the second, third, and fourth floor, "Please stay quiet for now. We don't want to draw their attention to us."

"Is there anyone else that survived?" Akita looked on at how few people there were coming to them.

"I'm sure there are still others," a young mother with her two children spoke. "My husband led another group towards here, though they took a different route to keep Kara off of our track."

"Then we'll keep the doors open for now," Akita affirmed, "and we'll wait for more survivors. We'll barricade only when we're sure no one else is coming, or when Kara finds out about this place and attacks. Everyone, keep an eye out for more survivors, and for attackers from Kara."

"Akita," Katasuke called her over, "I need to tell you something important." He led Akita to the second floor laboratory and then activated a barely-visible trap door in the wall, one reinforced by concrete and metal.

"You'll take the civilians and guide them to the end of this tunnel. It will lead to an opening more than a kilometer clear of the city. Once you do, lead them and travel on foot to Konoha, and tell them what happened here."

"But what about you?" Akita hugged Katasuke. "We need you to come to Konoha with us… I need you… and these two need you…" She trailed off as she rubbed her stomach gently.

"Don't worry," Katasuke reassured her as he carefully laid his hand on her belly, which had been growing for the past month now. "I'll follow you guys as soon as I send over all the data we've accumulated over the years to Konoha, and then delete our caches of data, so that Kara will never be able to use and abuse our precious research."

Akita nodded as a yelp of joy radiated from the floor below them. She went out of the laboratory and looked over the railing to see more survivors flooding into the facility. She saw the mother and two children she had spoken to just a while ago now hugging a tall man, whom she deduced to be the husband who led the other group of survivors here.

"How many survivors are there now?" Akita turned to her side as Katasuke asked her the question.

"I'd say 700 to 750," Akita replied, "and still counting, since a lot more survivors from the square are coming through the doors right now… I hope we can save more people."

"I hope so too," Katasuke sadly stated as he went back inside the laboratory. As Akita went downstairs to help looks for more survivors, as well as organize them and brief them on the escape plan, Katasuke called Konoha on the emergency channel. After a few minutes of endless ringing, the silence finally broke, and a voice he recognized from before picked up.

_"__Who is this?"_ It was clearly not Naruto, Katasuke noted, but rather it was Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, this is Katasuke. I'm in Ryutan right now, and we're experiencing a major attack by Kara. The city has fallen, and for all I know, we're all that remains free… We have survivors over here that are going to be travelling to you through the secret trail through the deep forest outside Ryutan. Please pick them up and ensure them safe passage. Also, I'm going to upload and send over all the data we have here to you, and then we'll delete our stores of data so that Kara will not steal our technology and abuse it. Is that alright with you?"

_"__That is a great idea actually, but I'm just worried that it might not be able to reach here fully, if at all. The online connectivity and services are still impaired due to the signal towers being downed by Kara. But work is being done right now to repair them and get us back online, so go ahead and try."_

"Okay then," Katasuke hummed to himself as he began typing the codes in the computer in front of him. Down below, he could hear tempered celebrations of joy as more survivors flooded into the building. A notification box popped up on screen, asking for confirmation in sending the data to Konoha. He immediately clicked the confirm button, and the data began to be uploaded and sent over to Shikamaru. The window said that the whole process would take anywhere between fifteen minutes, though that could very well change depending on whether or not the online connection inside the lab maintained its level. "It's starting to flow over to you," Katasuke informed Shikamaru, whom he heard was talking to some people in the background. Katasuke guessed that they were the ones who were trying to restore the online capability of Konoha.

Suddenly, he heard Akita's scream coupled with gasps from the surviving citizens of Ryutan coming from downstairs. He also listened to the sound of crashing glass, along the wooden and metal frames hitting the floor.

"Shikamaru," Katasuke warned him, "I think Kara knows we're here. We won't last much longer. Is there anything you can do to help us?"

_"…__No, we can't afford to spend any of our remaining forces for now. We're still reeling from the attack a few hours ago, many of our shinobi are injured or needed to help the reconstruction, and we're on high alert for another attack. You have to get out of there and come to us… I'm sorry."_

"Not without destroying all our data and research," Katasuke insisted. "If this all falls into the wrong hands, and especially into Kara's hands…"

Akita burst into the room followed by all the survivors they could organize. "We have more than one thousand survivors here with us," she informed Katasuke and Shikamaru. "We saved as many as we could from the massacre that just occurred. But now, Kara is right outside the building. We've barricaded the entrances, but they won't hold out for long… We'll take the secret tunnel route and follow it out of Ryutan. Afterwards, we will go on foot to Konoha, so that we can be as safe from Kara as we can possibly be."

"Where are the rest of the scientists?" Katasuke inquired. "I only see three of you here; where are the others?"

"They volunteered to hold down the barricade," Akita replied to him, "and buy us as much time as they can to help us escape through the tunnel." Downstairs, dull banging sounds and muffled shouts could be heard. Katasuke concluded that those were either the volunteering scientist defenders, or the Kara Outers that were trying to bring down the improvised barricades, which were probably hastily constructed from the sofas, chairs, lockers, tables, and anything else that wasn't firmly secured onto the ground.

"Everyone," the two scientists who accompanied Akita upstairs addressed the thronging crowd of survivors, "Please listen carefully. We'll lead you out of the city through this underground passage, the thick forest cover outside Ryutan, and to Konoha. Please follow us, and please remain calm and quiet." The two scientists then took the lead as they activated the secret door in the room, revealing the hidden passageway dimly lit by sporadic reddish light bulbs. The rest of the people hurriedly walked behind them into the tunnel, two at a time.

"You should go with them now," Katasuke requested as he and Akita focused on each other. "You know where Konoha is relative to Ryutan on foot, so you can lead them if the other two lose their bearings."

"I can't," Akita snapped back. "I'm not leaving you."

"Don't worry, my love. Remember what I promised to you a while ago? I'll be right behind you guys; I'll go as soon as I send over all our data to Konoha and destroy the data caches here. Simple, right?"

Akita's eyes glanced over to the screen, which said that the uploading process was 45.4% complete. "It shouldn't take too much longer now, right?" Katasuke shook his head.

"At this rate, it'll only take fifteen to twenty minutes to send it all to Shikamaru and then delete it all. I'm sure the people down below can hold Kara off for that long."

Akita nodded, but a loud explosion shook the building to its foundation. Below them, the screams of the scientists echoed through, and they heard voices shouting in pain, _"Hold them back! Stand your ground!"_

"Go now," Katasuke asked Akita. "I promise I'll be right behind you." Before anything else happened, Akita grabbed Katasuke and pulled him in for a long kiss. As they were enjoying themselves, a sudden cough rang through the speakers, and they turned to see Shikamaru's face on the screen right beside the timer.

_"__Sorry to interrupt your moment," _Shikamaru apologized as he averted his eyes away from them. _"Do you guys see me over from where you are?"_

Katasuke focused on the blurry, pixelated image. "Yes, but it isn't exactly clear. Are your workers still fixing and re-optimizing the connection?" Shikamaru nodded onscreen.

"How long were you watching us…?" Akita asked him.

_"__Uhh," _Shikamaru delayed his response,_ "probably fifteen or thirty seconds? In any case, you both must get out soon."_

"He's right," Katasuke added. "Go now. I'll catch up with you guys." Akita hugged her love one more time, before running to the secret exit. Katasuke noted the bangs below him seemed to have become louder, and the tone of the shouting to be more desperate. He looked back at the timer and progress meter, which now stated that the upload was 74.5% complete. But then, another huge explosion rocked the room, and he heard crashing wood, bouncing metal, breaking tiles, and shattering glass downstairs.

"I think the barricades have fallen," he informed Shikamaru as he placed his lab room under heavy lockdown, sealing all the doors shut, including the door to the secret tunnel. As he did so, he heard guttural screams of pain and death on the ground floor, and heavy footsteps racing up the staircase to the room he was in. Katasuke looked back at the progress report; it stated 92.6% finished. The sounds of at least five people banging their fists into the metal shield Katasuke had placed before the door due to lockdown were heard, along with their desperate cries for help.

"The process is almost complete," Katasuke noted. "98… 99… 100! There you go! Shikamaru, do you have all the data?"

"Yup, it just came through right now. Delete everything there now!"

"Yes," Katasuke replied as he inputted more coding into the computer. The option to delete the many hard drives of data popped up, but as soon as Katasuke pressed the delete button, he realized that the cries for help had all but faded away, and that all sound of movement had died out. He figured out what was about to happen.

Katasuke looked at Shikamaru on the screen. "Please tell Denki," he requested, "that I'm very proud of him and of who he has become. Tell him that I will always remember our journey of technological discoveries and advances together. It's one of my treasured memories. And remind him to keep on the path we started."

Shikamaru, who sensed the hopelessness in his plight, simply nodded. _"I will make sure to tell him that."_

"… And please take care of Akita and our children… I beg of you… I'll be content to die now if you assure me that they will live long, happy lives. Tell them that their daddy loves them, and will love them forever, even though he's not around anymore."

_"__Dammit! I'm not going to promise that yet," _Shikamaru reassured him_. "You'll survive this, and I will do all I can to help. You will get to tell Akita and your children yourself how much you love them. Now get out of there now! You've done all you can there."_

Before Katasuke could even respond in any way, the door was blasted open by explosives, and amid the smoke and dust, Kara members rushed in and restrained Katasuke.

As Katasuke was being held back by Kara Outers, Kashin Koji ran to the computer and cancelled the deletion of the files of data. He breathed a sigh of relief that no data was permanently deleted after he had cancelled the process. Jigen then entered the room and calmly approached Katasuke, only to swing his arm down and elbow him square in the face. Katasuke was knocked down, his nose broken and blood dripping profusely.

"You tried," Jigen smirked, "and you failed. This whole place, and all your precious data, it's ours now." He then kneed Katasuke in the gut and face at least ten times. Afterwards, he focused on the screen and saw Shikamaru, whose hand was covering his face in disappointment and disgust at what he was witnessing. Jigen smiled widely and chuckled as the gears were starting to turn in his head.

"Turn on those broadcasting networks," Jigen commanded the others, "and put us on the air and online now."

_"__Jigen," _Shikamaru spoke,_ "I would like to negotiate on this. No more blood needs to be shed unnecessarily today."_

Jigen snickered hysterically as a rebuttal. "Are you sure about that? You don't want anyone else to die today? Are you saying that you don't want me dead right now?"

_"__I can wait for that," _Shikamaru retorted. _"When this is all said and done, I will kill you, you piece of shit."_

"Firstly," Jigen remarked nonchalantly, "there should be some degree of respect on this. Otherwise, Katasuke here will pay the price, as I will try out this firearm of mine on his brains." He held a kneeling Katasuke hostage in front of the camera, and pulled out his gun from its holster, placing it on the shoulder of his captive. "At least I won't have to use up my Karma Seal or chakra for now. I'll save that later for the people of Ryutan. Second, surely you would want to avenge your son."

Shikamaru's blood ran cold, his face turned pale, and sweat started to drip down his face._ "What are you talking about?"_

"I killed him," Koji sighed as he admitted what he remembered happening last night. "Maybe not immediately, but I burned his legs off with my toad oil and fire bullet jutsus. If ever he somehow survives, he won't be walking around anytime soon."

Shikamaru started seeing red. He tried to tell himself internally to remain calm and observe how the situation was going and what needed to be done, but it was growing increasingly hard for him to do so. Shikadai is his son after all. No parent could ever sit still and remain perfectly calm when they heard something bad happened to their children. Additionally, he didn't know if Koji was lying, exaggerating, or telling the truth, as he had not seen Shikadai since before the attack started.

Jigen observed him, seeing the turmoil he caused inside Shikamaru. He observed that he was close to snapping, and that a few more taunts regarding his son and family would probably send him over the edge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cameras turn on. On another screen he could see himself and Shikamaru live on the broadcasting networks and social media sites. They were on air and online, and people were now tuning in and watching the real-life drama unfold. He grinned since he was about to pin Shikamaru with an unnecessary death in front of the entire world.

"Poor Shikadai…" Jigen tormented Shikamaru more. "He won't be playing and hanging out with his brother and his other friends anymore. And as Koji mentioned to me earlier, he certainly won't be fucking with his girlfriend anymore either. You'll see the end of your bloodline soon-"

Shikamaru had had enough. He spat back, "The next time you mention my family, I swear I will kill you myself. I'll teach you the real meaning of suffering, you son of a bitch."

Jigen disappointedly sighed as he placed the barrel of his weapon behind a trembling Katasuke's head. "Disrespectful, aren't you?"

Before Shikamaru could apologize and negotiate further, Jigen cocked the handle on his weapon's underbelly. In front of all the cameras and people watching live television, he pulled the trigger his gun and executed Katasuke. His skull was obliterated, his face instantly torn apart, and it was blown open into many scattering pieces, his blood staining the cameras and walls. Koji looked away as Katasuke's corpse slumped forward to the ground and leaked blood and wasted brain matter onto the floor, his eyes rolling away. Jigen shot his dead body seven more times with his buckshot gun, defiling his body further and exposing the internal organs and joints, blasting away his bones, joints, muscles, and skin, all on live television and video feed. Finally, he stopped his assault and addressed the cameras, as well as a disgusted, horrified Shikamaru.

"This is your fault," Jigen taunted Shikamaru with a sadistic and hateful smile. He pointed his weapon at the camera, pulled the trigger, and abruptly cut the video feed between them.

*******XXXXXXX*******

While the Kara Outers were busy cleaning up the debris, the blood, and the bodies, from the floor of the Advanced Technology Research Institute, Kawaki dove right into searching through the many files Katasuke had kept. He parsed through the computerized data that Katasuke tried and failed to delete, as well as physical folders he found inside Katasuke's office room, searching for any information that might be of use or interest.

After going through a few of the folders, he chanced upon one that had been named, _"Potentially Great Shinobi"._ He looked inside and saw individual files for Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Sumire, Shikadai, and many other shinobi of that generation, all with accompanying pictures and notes about their jutsus and abilities.

"This looks promising," Kawaki noted as he breezed through the contents. He saw pictures of Boruto fighting against the Otsusukis, the Mujina Bandits, and Kara members from years ago, Sarada with both her Mangekyo Sharingan activated, Mitsuki and his dragon-themed sage mode, Himawari and her Byakugan, Sumire riding atop Nue while shooting her water bullets and other water jutsus, Shikadai's strategic prowess, Metal Lee's taijutsu skill, Namida's mysterious sound style, and Ryogi's advanced ice style jutsus, among many others.

However, something weird caught his eye. There was another file for Sumire, separate from the one he had seen earlier, which for some reason had been labeled as top secret. As he opened this other file, he saw her pictures in the lab with some technological weapons like chakra sabers and a prototype of a modern firearm. It also had more descriptions, explanations, and even some diagrams related to her summon Nue and its numerous abilities. A piece of paper also fell out from the file, and when he picked up the fallen page and read it, he realized that it was a transcript of a conversation between Katasuke and Lord Seventh, his other adoptive father, regarding Sumire, her traumatic past, and her application to his company.

Before he could do anything more with the files, Kawaki heard screams of tortured pain outside the laboratory complex. He placed the folder on the table and walked to the large glass windowpanes, where he saw Jigen using his Karma Seal on around a hundred captured survivors of the Ryutan Square Massacre that had occurred earlier that day. He was likely trying to pass on the Karma Seal to whoever was capable of handling its power, just like what he had done to Kawaki all those years ago. Those whose bodies were rejected by the black Karma Seal of Jigen died a slow, agonizing, and horrendous death. While most of the prisoners perished, about a dozen survived their horrific ordeal, only to be forced by Jigen to join the Kara Organization as his own personal guard.

"Kashin Koji," General Smith informed him, "we have confirmed that there are still survivors in the Mayor's Mansion, the Central Mall of Ryutan, the Polytechnic University of Ryutan campus, and the Eastern Wood Hotels."

"Excellent," Koji responded. "Let us take a walk to the Mayor's Mansion, shall we?"

Smith nodded maliciously, looking forward to the mass executions that he himself would command.

"Koji," Kawaki called after him from the top floor of the main laboratory building. "Wait!"

Kashin Koji stopped and turned his head to acknowledge his younger fellow Kara Inner. "What is it, Kawaki?"

"You don't need to kill any more of these people," Kawaki pleaded. "These people are not the same as the people of Konoha. They treated me better… they weren't hateful to me… They are better…"

"Don't listen to him," General Smith countered. "Just a boy's naïve feelings. Let's finish them off. This will really be a city loyal to you, but only once everyone else is dead."

"I will think about your request," Koji responded to Kawaki. "For now, keep digging for more useful information. Understand?"

"I will."

The two old men walked for ten minutes through the damaged streets of the city to the front lawn of the Mayor's Mansion, where three armed guards were posted.

"Lord Kashin Koji," General Smith asked, "since you are the second-in-command of Kara and right-hand man of Lord Jigen, do I have your permission to kill them all? It will be good target practice for our troops."

Koji did not answer him. Instead, he walked up to the gated garden and saw many men, women, and children, many of them survivors of the Massacre at the Square, cowering in fear. "Please… leave us be…" the terrified guards pleaded with him.

The mayor of the city himself walked down the steps of his mansion. "Please, no one else needs to die today."

"Wrong," Kashin Koji looked at him. "All over the world, there are people who deserve to die today… But right here, and right now, in this city… I agree with you. No one else will die today."

"But-"

"Before you ask," Koji interrupted the mayor, sensing what he was about to say. "It was not me who ordered the massacre hours ago. It was this general by my side."

"Damn you Koji," cursed a fuming General Smith, as he had been denied his desire for even unnecessary bloodshed. "You piece of shit!"

"Tell the rest of your people to be free and live their lives like normal. I swear on my honor, there will be no unnecessary deaths in the days and months and years to come. The only difference will be that instead of Konoha shinobi being in charge of your city, we will be running this place from now on. The laws will change slightly too, with all ninja outlawed, socio-economic and gender-based discrimination banned, needed help for the poorest of the poor put into place, and altruism and generosity greatly encouraged."

The mayor was astonished at this turn of events. "I… I accept. As mayor, I surrender this city to you, as long as these conditions are, and will forever on be, implemented."

"You shall be mayor still," Koji informed him. "You know this city and its people better than any of us. We only intend to use this city, and the territory immediately adjacent to it, as a base of operations, a model city, and as living space, nothing more and nothing less."

"I OBJECT!" General Smith angrily protested. "You are not Lord Jigen! You don't have the authority to make these decisions! I will ask him myself!"

"What is it that you really want to achieve here?" Koji questioned his motives. "Do you want to capture a city and its territory? Plunder wealth and riches? Or just kill thousands of innocent people to satisfy your urges?"

"These people aren't innocent," the Merikhan-born general replied. "They chose the wrong side, by virtue of their birth. They were born as people of the Fire Nation, and therefore they are our enemies."

Kashin Koji stared back at him sternly. "Many years ago, I was born in Konoha, the very city we focused our assault on. As such, I am from the Land of Fire. Do you view me as your enemy?"

General Smith gritted his teeth, but was left speechless. "Kill enough people," the Kara Inner formerly known as Jiraiya affirmed to the foreign general, "and they will fear you and obey you. But kill too many people, and they will hate you, and soon they will rise up against you."

"That never mattered to me or my people," General Smith spat back. "Even if some of our own minorities rose against us, no matter what their reasons were, we put down their revolts and killed most of them. That way, the remaining population will never be able to rise again. They'll die off soon enough, too, and with no one to remember them or their cultures or their histories. Such is the way it should be, for those peoples too weak and too worthless to live in this world."

Koji shook his head. "No, that will not do. That may be your way of handling these things, but our way is different. Our way is better. We are here to make anew the world, not destroy it entirely. We aim to phase out the ninja way, and these people are not ninja."

*******XXXXXXX*******

In the darkness of the crater-filled training fields within the campus of Konoha Academy, a dark purple portal formed out of thin air. Through the portal jumped out Sasuke and Naruto, who were both supporting Toneri by the shoulders.

"We're home…" Sasuke panted.

On the other hand, Naruto looked around at the devastation of his beloved city. He was saddened, but remained hopeful as he usually did. "Dammit… there's a lot of rebuilding that we need to do… This reminds me of the time we had to repair everything in Konoha after Pain's Assault."

"Where is Boruto?" Toneri asked Naruto. "Where is your daughter that you speak of? Where is Hinata?"

"I don't see them anywhere yet," Naruto reassured Toneri. "But they're alive, I'm sure of it. Let's go look for them."

"Maybe we should go to the Hospital first?" Sasuke suggested. "My wife is definitely there now. Your family could also be there with her."

Naruto nodded. Together, the two lifted Toneri up to his feet and made their way to the road in front of the school. They trekked carefully, as it was dark because the electricity was out. However, once they made it to the road, they saw a flurry of activity beside the Hokage Mansion. There were many lights powered by electricity from generators, as well as candle lamps protected from the wind by their glass cases, that lit the entire area. A swarm of people sat and lay down in front of the burnt-out structure of the Hokage Mansion, while others ran to and fro to give out food, water, bandages, medicine, and oxygen canisters for certain types of gas masks. In the middle of the crowd, Naruto heard the loud voices of Konohamaru and Hanabi instructing and organizing rescue crews to sweep through the rubble of Konoha's residential areas to look for more survivors.

"They're there!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke nodded, and the three slowly walked to what looked to be an evacuation area. On the way there, they heard Konohamaru issuing more orders related to repairing the leaning skyscrapers, defusing bombs that did not go off, clearing up debris on the streets, rebuilding the burnt down homes. They also heard Hanabi reminding everyone about staying away from the yellow poison gas, as they had tried but failed to absorb the gas or remove it from their present locations.

Suddenly, voices shouted in joy as the citizens of Konoha saw their beloved Hokage returning. Naruto and Sasuke were nearly swarmed by the elated people, and they were only saved when Konohamaru told them to keep away and let them pass.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru and Hanabi ran to greet him and Sasuke. Hinata, Sakura, Boruto, Sarada, and Himawari followed, while Inojin, Chocho, Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida kept the crowd at bay to give the two families more space. They too bowed to show their respect and gratitude.

"Dad…" Sarada tightly gripped her father around the back. I'm so glad you're alive… We were so worried…"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata wept openly. "You're okay… It's been more than a day since I last saw you…"

Naruto hugged his family deeply, and so did Sasuke. In doing so, they left Toneri standing alone, and he quickly collapsed to the ground in front of Boruto and Konohamaru.

"Otsusuki! Everyone run!" An eagle-eyed citizen screamed and set off a panic that Naruto had to quell.

"People of Konoha, do not worry. He is my friend. He means no harm."

"Naruto," Konohamaru bowed before his closest friend. "Before anything else happens, I must give you back the position of Hokage. It is yours." He turned to the crowd. "As the Eighth Hokage, I decree that Naruto Uzumaki once again holds the title and office of the Hokage. All hail the Seventh Hokage! Long may he reign and serve Konoha!"

The crowd echoed behind him and bowed. Some even prostrated themselves before Naruto, who waved them off before hugging Konohamaru. _"So this is what the coronation was probably like,"_ he chuckled to himself.

Boruto glanced at Toneri. "I've seen you before… you're the one who appeared in my dreams when I was a kid…"

The moment Hinata saw Toneri's familiar face, she knelt down beside him. Hanabi knelt beside her and patted her shoulder in reassurance, since she remembered what happened 17 years ago. "Toneri…" Hinata then turned her eyes to her husband. "Why did you bring him here? Is there something wrong with him?"

"He wants to apologize to you," Naruto explained, "in person. Also, he was frozen in time, so we need Sakura to treat him, to keep him alive. He's only alive now because Kurama is feeding him enough chakra."

"My dear Hinata…" Toneri slowly raised his hand to touch Hinata's cheek. "You've changed… since the last time I saw you… I'm so sorry… for what I did… all those years ago…"

Before Hinata could reply, Toneri went further. "I… need to tell you something… I was the one who… gave your son his Jougan… his very special eye… that can see the flow of dark chakra… the type of chakra that not even the normal Byakugan or Sharingan can see… I wanted to train him… and I did so for a few dreams of his… But Urashiki stabbed me and froze me in time… I was not able to complete his training… or fully explain what his eye is capable of…"

Hinata was astonished by Toneri's revelation. "When?"

"I implanted it into Boruto… while Boruto was still in your womb…"

"I… I forgive you… Toneri. In my eyes, you've redeemed yourself." Hinata kissed Toneri on the cheek and gave him a hug before standing up. "Let's get you to Sakura right now."

"Hinata… thank you… so much…" The good-hearted Otsusuki turned his head to face Boruto. "Boruto… I heard of what you've achieved… Your father and your master told me… you defeated Momoshiki and Kinshiki… I'm so proud of you…"

"Wait, why did you do this?" Boruto tilted his head. "Why did you give me this Jougan?"

Toneri held Boruto's hand and squeezed it. "I believe… You can discover… all the secrets of the Jougan… and use it for… the good of the world… You can do this… but not by yourself… Your destiny is dark and filled with fraught and grief… but it will be lit up and supported… by the many allies and friends… that you are prone to making…"

"That's how much I believe in you-" Toneri coughed several times in a row, interrupting him. After he regained his composure, he then continued, "Because I believed in your mother… and your father got me to believe in him too… and so I put my faith in you… As the blood and spirit of your parents… flows deep inside you… You can surpass them… You can definitely change the world…"

With the chopping motion of his hand, the Otsusuki then severed off the visible chakra connection that Naruto and Kurama had been supplying him with. "It… is… finished…"

"What are you doing?" Naruto grabbed Toneri. "We're going to treat you! You're not going to die!"

"I've… fulfilled my life's mission… my purpose in this world…" Toneri explained in a weak voice. Nearby, Sumire gripped her chest with her hand, her mind torturously reminding her of the purpose she once had in life, the purpose her father had given her that should have taken her life, just like the purpose that Toneri had lived for and was dying for.

"No!" Sumire spoke up. "You can find other purposes in life! Your life doesn't have to be defined by one singular purpose! Boruto-kun himself taught me that!"

"Sumire's right!" Sarada affirmed. "You don't have to die now!"

"Urashiki is still out there," Naruto told Toneri. "Sasuke and I bumped into him, remember? We can certainly use your help in beating him."

Toneri shook his head with what energy as he had left. "Whatever fighting prowess I had… it died when you two took my Tenseigan… and destroyed it all those years ago… That, and Urashiki froze me in time for… more than ten thousand years… whatever you do… I'll slowly wither away…"

"…Are you sure?" Naruto sighed in sorrow. He knew Toneri was a good man at heart, and it pained him to see him suffering like this. If there was nothing that could be done to help him, why prolong his pain.

As Toneri lay dying, slowly taking in his final breaths, the Otsusuki had one last bright thought come to his mind. "Naruto… you told me… you and Hinata… also have a daughter…"

"Yes… her name is Himawari…"

Hinata led Himawari and presented her to Toneri. "Ah, I see… truly, she is a pretty sunflower…"

Himawari smiled. "Thank you, Mister Toneri. Nice to meet you."

"She does have… your trusting personality, Naruto," Toneri had one last laugh, which both parents shared.

"May I… read your future?" The pale and dying Otsusuki asked Himawari. She nodded, and so he took her palm, rubbed his thumb slowly on it, and peered into her future.

"Come closer, child…" Toneri whispered to the kneeling Himawari. "Only you can know your future… and only you can change it to your liking… Nobody else should know… Tell no one about what I will say to you now… or else it may not happen at all… Do you swear it?"

Himawari whispered back, "I swear it, Mister Toneri."

Himawari listened closely to the extremely faint voice of the dying Otsusuki. "As long as you keep working hard… you will become a successful… artist… and kunoichi… along with your boyfriend now… who will one day become your husband…"

Toneri coughed loudly, but then went on with coarse breath. "You will live a happy life… surrounded by many wonderful friends… and your brother will have a beautiful and loving wife… That sister-in-law of yours will love you dearly too… and you will love her as a true part of your own family… All this will occur… if and only if… you survive the attack of the hooded cloak…"

"Hooded… cloak…?" Himawari whispered back. "Mister Toneri, what do you mean by that? …Mister? …Mister Toneri?" But there was no more response from Toneri, as his head fell back onto the hard concrete pavement of the street.

* * *

_**How was the chapter, guys? Feel free to leave likes and kudos and reviews and reactions! Next chapter, Chapter 10: "United We Stand", will be uploaded by late Sunday (Philippine Time, of course XD) ^_^**_

_**In the comments:**_

_**1) Everyone knew that Koji and Delta worked together, but did anyone expect them to be THAT close? ;) XD**_

_**2) Did anyone see the LOTR reference in there? "Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time... Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the Earth..." and so on, so forth? ;)**_

_**3) The Massacre at Ryutan? And Koji/Kawaki's mercy?**_

_**4) Naruto, Sasuke, and Toneri returning to Konoha? And Konohamaru's less-than-a-day reign as Hokage? XD**_

_**5) Toneri's prophecy for Hima-chan? =O**_

_**TRIVIA of the day: General Smith and the Massacre at Ryutan is based on the real-life Balangiga Massacre (the REAL one, where American soldiers under General Jacob H. Smith's direct orders, killed up to 50000 civilians, men, women, and children over the age of ten in the island of Samar), which is where I got my inspiration for Gen. Smith in the story. He was (the man in real life)/will be (character in story) a complete asshole. **_

_**I echoed his infamous quote in my story too. "I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn. The more you kill and burn, the better it will please me... The entire island of Samar must be made a howling wilderness."**_


	10. United We Stand

**_Hello there! I have returned with another chapter! This turned out to be one of the shorter ones in the story. It's about the aftermath of the Siege of Konoha, the full extent of the Kara Offensive, and the start of Sumire's Birthday arc, as this occurs on June 12! (Yes, this was supposed to be on her birthday week, but I was too late hahaha huhuhu)_**

**_Still, it's June 30 (in some places in the world), so it's still her birth month. At least I wasn't too late for that hahaha XD_**

**_Anyway, you'll see much more of that in Chapters 11-14. For now, enjoy the chapter! Feel free to leave comments ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 10: United We Stand**

"Sarada… Sarada, wake up."

Sarada opened her eyes to see her father sitting on her bedside. His eyes were softer and happier than his normal, serious, pensive look. He also was wearing house clothes for a change, rather than his usual dark cloak outfit. Before she could react, he guessed what she was about to point out, and began tickling her sides. Sarada giggled loudly and tried to resist, the sound directing Sakura to enter the room as well. The three of them spent the better part of the next fifteen minutes tickling each other, throwing pillows or stuffed toys at each other, and lying on Sarada's queen-sized bed, relishing this moment of peace after the devastating Kara attack only a few nights ago. Before anything else happened, Sarada tightly hugged her father, with him returning the hug tighter in a rare show of affection.

"Dad… you're squishing me…" Sarada wiggled. Sakura laughed at the scene and genuinely felt the happiest she had been in a long, long time. Her family was finally spending some quality time together, having fun and being happy, and no missions from Naruto or anything else to interrupt their time. She wished that this moment could last much longer, forever if possible, but of course it had to end sooner than later.

"Honey," Sasuke told Sakura, "I'll have to go to the Shinobi Union conference meeting later."

"I thought that it was only Shikamaru that had to handle that?"

"Well, the Five Kages, as well as either the Kages of the other nations or their most trusted aides, are all attending. Naruto himself is attending, and Orochimaru himself made me the representative of the Sound Nation and the SST, since he's still defending Oto from the Kara attack there."

"The SST?" Sarada tried to recall the political science lecture where Naruto and Shikamaru had taught her all the recognized nations, territories, and forms of governments. "You mean the Sovereign Sound Territories?"

"Almost Sarada," Sasuke nodded and patted her shoulder. "The Scattered Sovereign Territories of the Land of Sound. Still, those terms are almost interchangeable anyway, and both refer to Orochimaru's bases all throughout the continent."

"What time is the meeting?" Sakura asked, understanding the predicament that everyone was in.

"Naruto said that it would start at 11, though knowing him and what he's been going through, he'll probably oversleep. So I'll pass by their house to make sure he won't be late for the conference."

Sakura looked at the clock in Sarada's room. "One and a half hours from now, noted. I'll cook up breakfast in a while."

"Dad," Sarada asked, "can I come with you?"

Sasuke looked at her with an inquisitive smile. "Why?"

"Because I want to learn more and get firsthand experience," Sarada happily and proudly replied. "If I'm going to become Hokage in the future, I need to learn all the ins and outs of politics, negotiations, diplomacy, relations, meetings… everything about running a country. I figured that firsthand experience like this would help me a lot… So can I go?"

Sasuke chuckled and beamed a smile. "Alright, I'll allow you to tag along so you can observe. At this rate, you'll surpass even Naruto as the best Hokage that Konoha will ever have."

Sarada stared at him with shock. She couldn't believe he had said this. "Dad… You… r-really think so?"

"Yes I do," Sasuke replied as he stood up. "You're so willing to learn, and from Boruto has been telling me, you're very adept at being a leader of your group of friends."

Sarada felt proud that her father was praising her, and hugged him again. "Thanks Dad, love you. This really means a lot to me."

Sasuke ruffled her hair and poked his fingers on her forehead. "I love you too, Sarada…" Hungry stomachs from both father and daughter growled to interrupt the moment and beg for food. "Let's go down for breakfast."

As the father-daughter duo went downstairs, they heard Sakura banging on what sounded to be the television set. "Hinata and Ino said the stations were back up and running, but I can't get any TV channels to work."

"I'll check the signal dish up on the roof," Sasuke told her as he walked out the door. Sarada sat at the table, and she looked at the scrumptious food that Sakura was cooking up. Suddenly, the white noise of the TV began whizzing about before dissipating into a moving black and white picture of a woman, whom Sarada recognized as the Konoha News anchorwoman. The sound of the news came afterwards, and finally colors flashed onscreen. Sakura sighed with relief, shouted to Sasuke that the TV was finally working, and returned to the kitchen to finish the meal she had been cooking. Sasuke returned inside and sat at the head of the table, and the two of them paid close attention to the news unfolding.

_"__Four days have passed since Kara's surprise attacks on Konoha and all other major cities and towns across the nations. It is now being called the 'Kara Offensive'… The death toll in Konoha alone is staggering, with more than 4000 confirmed dead and counting. Meanwhile, above 10000 wounded and incapacitated are crowding and overwhelming the Konoha Medical Center, many of them poisoned in the yellow gas attacks…"_

Sakura brought to the table two plates of eggs, bacon, and some beef with broccoli, one of Sarada's favorites. Sakura laid the plates down in the middle on the table, while looking at the horrific scenes and interviews inside the hospital. "I've been there for the past three days," she told Sasuke and Sarada while fetching a third plate from the kitchen, this time of sliced fruits. "There are so many people we still need to treat, so many people we need to save. But Tsunade literally forced me to take a one-day break. She said I looked ready to keel over at any moment from the exhaustion."

"You really do need it," Sasuke reassured her. "Three days of nonstop working without any breaks is enough to drive most people insane, let alone make anyone collapse."

"I know I need it," Sakura looked at him, before turning back to the television. "But I keep worrying about the patients I still have to help." The TV was now showing graphic images of the huge blisters on affected people's arms, the pink, swollen-shut eyes, the bloody mouths, and chemical burns on exposed skin. Sakura, who had still been wearing her white hospital gown, which had been stained with deep red blood and a dark yellow hue at the time, was then shown on the news channel, being interviewed on the severity of the injuries and the effects of the poison gas on human bodies.

"Mom," Sarada asked, "How are Mitsuki and Shikadai? Were you the one who treated them when we got to the hospital?"

"Yes," Sakura replied. "Shikadai is doing as well as can be expected, though he still needs crutches and a lot of help to walk, since his legs were burnt badly. On the other hand, Mitsuki's doing a lot better now, so much better than Ino, Tsunade, and I were anticipating. He's recovered for the most part." Sakura paused to eat some broccoli before she continued. "No normal person would take only three days to go from being on the brink of death from this poison gas to being nearly perfectly healthy. In fact, nobody else has shown nearly as much progress and recovery as he has when poisoned by this substance. It seems that Orochimaru did make him into a near-perfect human being."

Sarada smiled, feeling a weight lifted from her shoulders. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Also," Sakura added. "Your Uncle Choji is recovering from his surgery. It looks like he'll make it, but he needs more bed rest, so he's still confined to the hospital."

"Chocho will be so relieved to hear that… Anyway, can I visit Mitsuki later? After the conference?"

"If his progress stays on track," her mother told her, "you won't even need to. If Mitsuki recovers sufficiently well by midday, we'll release him from the hospital later. We need to give the space and attention to patients in worse condition."

"That's wonderful! I'll swing by later, as soon as the Shinobi Union meeting ends, to pick Mitsuki up. Then we'll go to Sumire's birthday party at her apartment."

Both Sasuke and Sakura piqued up at the mention of Sumire's name and her special occasion. Sakura replied to her daughter, "Give her a happy birthday greeting for me!" Sarada agreed to do so, while her mom continued asking questions. "How has she been doing? And when will she, Chocho, Wasabi, and Namida all come over to have a sleepover here again?"

"I don't know yet when the next sleepover will be, but we'll make sure to plan it out," Sarada told her mother. "Is next week alright for you Mom?"

As they were speaking, the television changed into a detailed map of Konoha. It showed large yellow areas, which the newscaster explained were banned places to go through or go to, at least for the time being. As it turned out, the yellow poison gas was extraordinarily persistent and potent, being absorbed by water sources, the soil, and even lingering as a curious mist close to the ground. Worse, as a lot of unsuspecting and unfortunate people found out when they passed through those now-banned areas, the gas was potent and effective even up until now.

"I should accompany you guys to her apartment to keep you guys safe," Sasuke added. "Afterwards, I'm going to have a one-on-one talk with Naruto regarding Sumire and her unique summon creature, Nue."

"That's okay," Sarada replied, "but what are you two going to discuss about Nue?"

"It'll be mostly regarding Sumire's own safety," Sasuke assured her. "We need to guard and keep Sumire Kakei's true identity, the creature Nue, their abilities, and former purposes, as Konoha state secrets. We don't exactly know yet whom to trust with this knowledge… And even then, some of the people we do trust would still object to her… continued existence."

Sarada and Sakura sat there, stunned at the revelations. "But why?" Sarada argued. "She's a good person inside! She's not like Kara, she's not evil or anything like that."

"I know that," Sasuke admitted to her. "To be honest, one of the reasons I'm coming along to her apartment is to thank her for saving you." Sasuke then looked away from both of them. "Yet the point still stands: She's a legitimate possible threat. She and Nue have attacked Konoha before, and very well could have destroyed us had Boruto and Mitsuki not intervened. Even Naruto was dumbfounded and helpless against her, once she and Nue transferred dimensions."

"But that was in the past," Sarada continued. "It was a misguided quest that her selfish, uncaring, abusive father nailed to her. She will not do it again, I promise that to you. I guarantee it"

"Honey, I've met Sumire before on multiple occasions," Sakura vouched for one of her daughter's best friends. "She seems like a wonderful person and friend to Sarada and the others."

"I have met her as well," Sasuke pointed out, "and Naruto has vouched for her sake too. What both of you are saying is true; I'm not saying that she should be killed, not at all. However, you have people like Lord Gaara, who say that anything or anyone who can drain people of their chakra needs to be destroyed, so that its effects won't be used for terrible things. He said that during the Momoshiki Attack a few years ago, and I highly doubt his stance has changed much since then. That's why we must keep it secret."

Sarada and Sakura agreed. "Yes, secret… for her sake."

With that, Sasuke looked at the clock. "Almost time to go, it's 10:20. We still need to make sure Naruto makes it on time."

"I'll just change my clothes and brush my teeth," Sarada replied before standing up and walking up the stairs to her room.

"I hope this meeting goes to plan," Sasuke confided to his wife.

Sakura hugged her husband from behind, her arms wrapping around his chest. "I'm sure it will. You and Naruto will do a great job. You two always manage, anyhow."

*******XXXXXXX*******

With Sarada by his side, Sasuke rang the doorbell of the Uzumaki house. They saw some workers were standing on bamboo scaffolding, still repairing damage to the front right side of the house, which had been caused by a falling artillery shell, the crater of which was still visible in the garden.

The door opened, with Hinata looking out. "Oh Sasuke! And Sarada! Hello there!" She waved to them before walking to the gate and unlocking it. "Are you looking for my husband?"

"Yes," Sasuke graciously replied. "I was afraid that he'd sleep in, so he'll be late for the Union meeting. It's already 10:45, after all."

"Oh," Hinata reacted as they entered the house, "don't worry. Boruto already woke him an hour ago. He's just getting dressed up and ready."

Just then, they heard the familiar voice coming down the stairs quickly. "Hinata, I'm ready for the…" The blonde man, who looked fresh out of the bathroom with his hair and face still wet, paused in the middle of the staircase. "Sasuke, you're here already? And I see you brought Sarada along." Sasuke nodded, and Naruto grinned as he walked down the last steps, kissed Hinata goodbye, and walked up to Sasuke and Sarada.

"Lord Seventh," Sarada greeted with a grin. "I came along because I want to observe the politics and processes of the Shinobi Union. I want to see all the Kages and how they use their power. I hope it's okay with you."

"She's very determined to become Hokage, just like you were," Sasuke proudly told Naruto. "She loves experiencing these things firsthand."

Naruto looked at her with a gentle smile and he ruffled her hair. "That's completely fine. I know you like to pay close attention so you can learn more for when you do become Hokage. Hmmm, I guess you can sit behind me during the meeting."

The trio walked through the now-bustling streets of Konoha, even though a lot of craters, charred markings, and holes along the walls. The Hokage Residence had been detonated and burnt to a crisp only four nights ago, but through the sheer will, fervor, and commitment of the construction workers, they worked day and night to hastily rebuild the hallowed structure while making sure of its structural integrity. And by the time that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sarada reached the Residence, they saw that the grand old façade and the walls had been mostly rebuilt. All the workers had left to do were to repaint the exterior, reform symbols on the walls and the roof, and finish the interior design. That being said, once they entered the building, it looked and felt as good as new. It was as if the Hokage Residence was only undergoing restoration and maintenance, not being totally rebuilt from the ground up.

"Wow," Naruto exclaimed, before thanking the workers. "You've all been doing a wonderful job! Keep up the great work! And don't forget to take a break every now and then." The workers cheered as their Hokage praised their handiwork, and they returned to work more encouraged and energized than ever before.

The three walked up the grand staircase and saw a crowd around the conference room, where the Kage meetings usually take place. This time however, it would be the venue for the Shinobi Union Emergency Conference.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Sasuke," Shikamaru, who was at the door, announced and greeted them, and the crowd turned around and bowed slightly. Shikamaru then opened the door, and the representatives of each member nation of the Shinobi Union flooded in and took their respective seats around the long table.

"Naruto!" Gaara approached and hugged his longtime best friend. "It's wonderful to see you again, especially in these dark times."

"Same here," Naruto replied, "though there is something I need to tell you about… It's about Shimo in the Land of Frost…"

They followed the crowd into the room, with Sasuke and Sarada in tow. Gaara turned to them this time. "Sasuke, I heard you've been made special representative of Oto."

"Yes, I have. Orochimaru is still fighting off the assault on his city."

Gaara sadly nodded. "As are a lot of the minor powers. This crisis is not over quite yet."

As everyone settled down, Shikamaru took center stage and did the usual roll call procedure of the Shinobi Union to start. "Lord Hokage Naruto, Lord Kazekage Gaara, Lord Mizukage Chojuro, Lord Raikage Darui, and Lady Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi; the Five Great Kages are all present." With that, the five kage all stood up and bowed. Sarada was quietly observing the traditions and protocols that were being followed during this important meeting.

"Next," Shikamaru continued afterwards, "Lord Amekage Yahikonan, Lord Heiyakage Nakamura, Lord Takikage Shibuki; the Three Princely Kages are all present." The three stood up and bowed as well.

A curious Sarada quietly asked Naruto, "What did Uncle Shikamaru mean by 'Princely Kages'?"

"It's mainly to differentiate them from the Five Great Kages of the Five Great Ninja Nations," Naruto replied in an equally hushed voice. "It's because we acknowledge the heads of Ame, Kusa, and Taki as legitimate Kages because their nations are all powerful in their own right, even if they're not as large or powerful as the five great nations. They also all have their special titles of Kage as well. Yahikonan is the Amekage, the Lord of the Rains. Nakamura is the Heiyakage, or Lord Over The Plains, and Shibuki is the Takikage, the Lord inside the Falling Waters."

"Lastly," Shikamaru wrapped up the roll call, "Special Representative to Lord Orochimaru of the Land of Sound and its Scattered Sovereign Territories, Sasuke Uchiha, who also is co-representative of the Land of Fire. And the representative of the village heads of Tani and Takumi, Tanahashi, from the Land of Rivers… Both of them are present. Seeing as all member nations are present, this meeting is now officially underway."

"Okay then," Naruto stood up. "Shikamaru, can you show us the battle map right now? How is everyone holding up against this Kara Offensive?"

Shikamaru flashed the map on the white screen using the overhead projector. "On the night of June the 7th, 5 days ago, the organization known as Kara launched a massive string of assaults, attacking many cities in every member state of the Shinobi Union, and even the states and cities beyond this organization."

Within the first three days of the attacks," he explained the progression of the surprise offensive, "some of our cities were able to repel the attacks. Konoha routed the siege by morning of the next day, and so did Kumo, Suna, and Iwa later that early evening. By last night, Ame and Kiri had also driven away their attackers. Yet, as of this moment, many more cities are currently under siege, including Taki, Oto, and Kusa. Worse, the Land of the Waves, the Land of Hot Springs, and the Land of the Seas have also surrendered to Kara, while small pockets of the River Lands continue to resist despite the fall of their twin major cities of Tani and Takumi."

"Don't worry about us just yet," Shibuki added proudly. "Taki is protected by our thick jungles, our wide rivers, and our high mountains. My city has never fallen into enemy hands, and I guarantee on my life that it won't now. Not under my watch."

"I refused their offer of surrender," Nakamura afterwards stated. "We're now fighting over Kusa, street to street, house to house, room to room, and hand to hand. Once this meeting is adjourned, I will return immediately to Kusa and lead the defense."

"We will send aid as quickly as possible," Naruto replied. "We hope to help relieve your city before it falls."

The Heiyakage nodded in a gesture of thanks, but quickly continued. "I do want to emphasize that my confidence in the Shinobi Union, and its Mutual Defense Pact, is shaken." A volley of concurring ayes followed from the Takikage, the Mizukage, and some others in the room. "Why weren't any of us informed of the impending attacks?"

"True," Chojuro turned to Naruto. "We were really caught by surprise. Is this a failure of communication or of surveillance, or both?"

Darui added, "Why was there no warning? Was it so clandestine that nobody knew until the bombs came raining and the bullets went flying?"

"I am so sorry," Naruto told the room. "I truly am. I take responsibility for this. We were caught off-guard as well. In fact, we intercepted some encrypted messages in the days leading up to the attacks, but we were only able to fully decode them literally minutes before Konoha was attacked."

"He's right," Sasuke defended Naruto. "I was there helping out the decoding process. We barely had any time left to try and evacuate our town center before it was blown up by… a Kara insider by the name of Kawaki…"

"I heard about the bombing of the marketplace," Gaara sadly mused. "I'm sorry about what happened there. If there's anything we could do to help treat the survivors, we're willing to help."

"We also intercepted some messages," Kurotsuchi admitted, "but we did not investigate them. There were other more pressing problems in my country, specifically related to our damn daimyo… I too should apologize."

"You mean Earth Daimyo Roa Du Tertae? Geeez, he really is such a drag," Shikamaru commented to try and lighten the mood, which worked since everyone else took a moment to laugh.

"Before we move onto other topics," Nakamura spoke, "What were these new weapons? I'm not familiar with any of them. Is this some new ninja technology? They didn't seem to rely on or even use any chakra."

"With regards to your question," Shikamaru turned to Nakamura, "these new weapons you ask about are called guns or firearms. They were a pretty old and rare family of weapons, and not many people used them in our time because they were quite hard to make and use back then. But with the technological advancements of our era, they've become more popular as weapons because of their style, reliability, easiness to make and maintain and use, and their novelty too. Nowadays, depending on the type and model, a gun can have anywhere between 3 to 100 bullets loaded, and it only takes the pull of a trigger to fire one. In fact, we have a sample of a gun a Kara Inner used during the Siege of Konoha," announced Shikamaru as he held up a silvery metallic pistol that held six bullets inside a revolving chamber, which Shikamaru demonstrated to everyone in the room.

"The Kara Inner who used this was killed in combat, but anyone who uses this can kill someone else rather easily." Shikamaru then pointed the revolver to the concrete wall of the room, safely away from everyone else, and pulled the trigger. The sudden pop of the gunshot, followed by some flying bits of concrete displaced by the bullet, elicited startled yelps and snap reactions from many inside the room. "This is no laughing matter. Literally anyone with a brain and some fingers left can use this."

The Amekage, Yahikonan, whom Sarada noted to have striking blue hair that barely covered both of his eyes, paired with a young, pretty, wrinkle-free face, spoke to Naruto. "That is indeed intriguing and worrisome… but that aside for a moment, there is the real possibility of a famine, and there will be major loss of livelihoods and economy to go along with mass death and mass destruction. I trust that all of us here in this room will work together to rebuild and pull through?"

Naruto looked at him and nodded. "You have my word."

"Rest assured that we will provide what we can," Gaara added. "We're truly all in this together."

Sasuke nodded in agreement and held his hand up. "Oto has been hard hit by the attacks," Sasuke continued, reading the files Orochimaru had sent him. "The Scattered Sovereign Territories, AKA Orochimaru's labs, bases, and enclaves, were hit badly, and most of them are now overrun. Aside from a few islands, there is only one base still resisting, and my partners from Team Taka are defending it; Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu, three people I trust with my lives. They will do their job, and do it well."

"As Lord Sasuke noted," Shikamaru took over and continued his battle report, "some of those territories have already been overrun, and some other cities and nations have already yielded. Yu and the Land of the Hot Springs, for example, surrendered once Kara bombarded the city and destroyed one of their famous premier hot spring establishments. The city of Ishi in the Land of Stones has been taken as well, and so has Ryutan, a major city in the Land of Fire less than an hour's commute from here. Ryutan is our science and research center; most of the ninja technology and advanced ninja tools are produced there, and we have reason to believe that Kara is stealing as much technology from the city as they can. They're uploading data of their observations and scans of our weapons online, and physically smuggling them out of the city as we speak, presumably to their hidden bases wherever they may be."

"Even worse," he continued, "using the broadcasting channels and internet connections found in Ryutan, they are spreading pictures, videos, messages, posts, and articles of abuses, discrimination, corruption, and crimes that they claim we are responsible for, and they are calling for a revolution to topple us shinobi from power."

Shikamaru paused, breathed deeply for a seconds, and took out a transcript of a video sent out by Kara from within Ryutan. "In their own words," Shikamaru quoted what he saw, "their aim is _'to liberate all oppressed peoples, especially the poor, discriminated, and marginalized, and this necessitates the destruction of the old system and the creation of a new society.'_ In other words," Shikamaru emphasized deeply, "they want the end of the ninja way."

The room was quiet, with everyone paying attention to Shikamaru and mulling over his analysis. Then Chojuro spoke, "We must retake Ryutan at all cost, and as quickly as possible at that. The more they spread these fake news and false propaganda, the more inclined people will be to overthrow us. Maybe not directly, but they might start losing faith in us."

"Wait a minute," Naruto politely interrupted. "Shikamaru, does there happen to be an article there regarding Shimo? From the Land of Frost?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Shikamaru sighed and looked away. He already knew where this was going.

Gaara leaned in closer on the wooden table, looked at Shikamaru eye to eye, and asked. "If you don't mind, can you read it to us? Or perhaps show us its contents?"

Shikamaru nodded and went to the laptop. He changed tabs and accessed the Kara document in question. "This article," Shikamaru turned to his audience, "specifically details the human rights violations, corruption, and state-sponsored extrajudicial killings and heinous crimes that have been happening in Shimo for many years now, and continue as we speak. The political murders and extrajudicial killings ordered by their Daimyo, the rapes by their military police, and child slavery are all documented here, along with corroborating pictures, interviews, and videos."

Naruto looked at Chojuro, who himself looked frustrated as he sat down and put his face on his hands. "This is not fake," Naruto concluded. "Do you remember now? Or do you still want to play blind to it?"

"So the situation in Shimo has been found out," Darui remarked, "leaked and published." The three Princely Kages looked at him.

"Do you mean to say that you knew about this all along?" Yahikonan asked in disbelief.

"We did," Kurotsuchi sighed while rubbing her temples. "It's been discussed before by the Kage Council, of which only we Five Great Kages are privy to."

"Since when has this been happening?" Nakamura further delved into the issue. "Since when did you know?"

Chojuro shrugged. "It's been going on for many years now. Personally, I've known about it for… maybe seven years now? I've lost count."

"This is unacceptable!" Shibuki protested, shouting at the top of his lungs and slamming the table with his fist. "The Shinobi Union has to do something! While we talk here in comfort and luxury, the men, women, and children of Shimo suffer and die under a power hungry madman who cares nothing for them! They cannot afford to wait any longer!"

Shikamaru held up his hand. "While that is regrettably true, we're also under attack right now. We can't focus on them while trying to contain the threat of Kara. We can barely give them any attention as is."

"This cannot and will not be swept under the rug any longer," Naruto determinedly asserted. "We've debated about this for years now, yet it's true that no action has been."

Shibuki continued, "And why exactly hasn't anything been done, even before all this?"

Naruto elaborated, "Because in the Kage Council Summits, the Five Great Kage all have to be unanimous in our decisions for any action authorized by our council to really take place. Or else, whoever disagrees uses their veto power, and the proposal is shot down immediately."

"Unfortunately," Shikamaru added, "the representatives from Kumo and Kiri have both vetoed any such expedition force or military intervention to Shimo from happening."

The rest of the room glared at Darui and Chojuro in disbelief. Baffled, Yahikonan asked them point-blank, "Why would you?"

"It's like this," Chojuro expounded. "We don't want to set a horrible precedent of interfering in another nation's affairs. That was common back then in the times of our parents, but we've all decided that that is not right and proper nowadays in our modern times. The last thing we want is to invade them, destroy their property, and kill the poor people force-conscripted into their army."

"We'll look like assholes if we intervene by force," Darui affirmed. "I want a peaceful resolution to this. Remember, we are supposed to save the people of Shimo. No more Shimo blood needs to be spent futilely."

"But the Shimo daimyo and his crony government refuse to listen," Gaara commented. "We can only do so much without directly intervening."

"We don't need to politically or militarily intervene," Sasuke said. "We simply need to pressure them into shaping up the way we want them to, without violating their sovereignty."

"Now that," Kurotsuchi irritably pointed out, "is so much easier said than done."

"You think we haven't tried that?" Darui retorted. "We've given them at least four notices of our unanimous support as the Council of The Five Great Kage, demands for them to 'improve their rule radically and drastically', yet has anything happened?"

"They need to fear us for them to change their ways," Chojuro adamantly said. "Otherwise, what incentive do we have to make the necessary changes happen?"

"I wonder if paying them to shape up will work," Nakamura wondered out loud. "You guys talk about an incentive, so how about cash, food, manpower, or other economic assistance?"

"Are you saying we'll pay this madman to improve his ways?" Gaara replied, incredulous at the statement before him. "He'll just take the money and keep on his way. We'll be fools if we do that…"

"How about we don't pay him?" Sasuke suggested. "In fact, how about we prevent him from earning as much as he would?"

The entire room focused on him now. "We could all embargo Shimo and the Land of Frost, blockade them if need be. Embargoes and blockades are not acts of war per se, and they will deprive the Frost Daimyo of its possible income and resources."

Kurotsuchi noted, "Correct. If we do embargo them, the Shimo government and its daimyo will lose more of their income. But my problem with that is when that happens, to compensate for that lost income, they will surely increase their taxes and abuse their own citizens more. Plus, if we do cut off all trade and shipping by land and by sea, the people of Shimo won't get enough food and other resources. Even if their government doesn't take their anger out on their own people, and it's very likely that they will, we will end up starving, hurting, or killing the very people we want to save. Then they'll turn on us and blame us for their misfortunes too."

Determined to take action, Naruto replied, "What if we threaten them with it? Give them an ultimatum? If they don't improve to our standards, then we blockade them. That way, they'll know who is really to blame for the resulting blockade. Maybe they'll rise up against Shimo and its Daimyo."

Gaara thought about it, then nodded. "I guess that could worth a try."

Shikamaru asked, "How about let's put it to a vote?"

Naruto nodded to him, and eventually all the other representatives agreed to the vote. Shikamaru continued, "Okay then. All those in favor of the ultimatum to Shimo, raise your hands."

Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke, Yahikonan, Nakamura, Shibuki, and Tanahashi immediately raised their hands. After three seconds of hesitation, Kurotsuchi also raised her hand, and after five more, Chojuro and Darui did too.

Shikamaru looked at the hands. Ten hands were raised, meaning it was unanimous vote. "No objections?"

"I sincerely hope that the oppressed people of Shimo don't needlessly suffer any more from our decision today," Kurotsuchi reminded everyone.

As no one else spoke up, Shikamaru concluded, "As a unanimous decision from this council, and no veto from any of the Five Great Kages, the ultimatum for Shimo shall be delivered as such. If they do not drastically improve the conditions, freedoms, and rights for their citizens, all nations in this council will impose an embargo on them."

Sounds of applause and agreement rang out from that announcement. After that, the last thing left to do for that meeting was to strengthen and reaffirm the Mutual Defense Pact of the Shinobi Union. Every member nation renewed their oaths to assist their fellow states through this crisis, and any future crises, as much as they can. As soon as the last representative finished re-signing the pact, Shikamaru announced that the meeting was over, and that the battle plans would be drawn up, prepared for, and discussed during the next normal Shinobi Union meeting, which would be sometime next week. The Kages and representatives all stood up, bowed, thanked Shikamaru, and filed out of the room.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Gaara were in a conversation while walking out of the conference when Sarada approached them. "Dad! Lord Seventh! Lord Kazekage!" she exclaimed.

"Sarada," Naruto turned to his protégé. "How was the experience? How were we?"

"That was so great! You, Dad, Lord Kazekage, Lord Amekage, and everyone else there were cool! The meeting was so organized, everyone got to speak their minds equally, and the way the council handled the many different issues and threats was amazing!"

"I'm glad to hear that," they heard Shikamaru interject behind them.

"Yeah," Naruto pointed to his best friend and closest advisor. "Shikamaru is the one who makes sure the meetings flow smoothly. If there's anyone you should commend for the meeting, it's him."

Sarada commented, "It's a big responsibility." She then looked at her cellphone, where the digital clock read 1:17 pm. "Dad," she asked Sasuke, "can we pass by the hospital to pick Mitsuki up? Then we'll join up with some of our friends before we go to Sumire's place."

"Of course dear," Sasuke replied to his daughter. He then looked back to Naruto. "I need to talk to you later. Will you be here?"

"You bet! Unless Shikamaru here has something that I don't know about yet, I'll be in my office for the rest of the day."

"Alright, I'll just accompany Sarada, Mitsuki, and the others to Sumire's apartment for her birthday celebration. Afterwards, I'll head right back here."

"It's her birthday today! Right! Greet her a 'Happy Birthday' for me, please?" Naruto requested of Sarada, who nodded with a smile.

"May I come with you guys?" They looked at Sai, who had been guarding the meeting outside the room, now coming up from behind and joining them. "I just want to see how she's been doing."

"Of course you can come," Sarada replied. "Inojin's coming with Himawari, so there's your excuse." Sai smiled, knowing of the burgeoning relationship between his son and the daughter of Naruto and Hinata.

"Wait," Naruto interrupted, "I've noticed that Hima has been hanging out with Inojin a lot in the last two months. Is there anything really going on between the two of them?" Sasuke, Shikamaru, Sai, and Sarada all giggled softly and smiled. Naruto still had a ways to go in terms of being a great father, and for a moment, Sarada questioned herself if being the Hokage was really that great of a thing, as it could mean that she would have to sacrifice her own family to serve the people of Konoha. Immediately however, she pulled that thought out of her mind.

"By the way Sasuke," Naruto asked, "what exactly are we going to talk about?" Sasuke looked back at him, a serious look now in his eyes.

"Sumire."

* * *

**_How did you guys like the chapter? United they may stand, but will this union stand the test of time and Kara? =O_**

**_Anyway, the next chapter, Chapter 11: The Forgotten Ones, will focus on Sumire, Team 15's run-in some months prior with a man called Trajano [Filipino readers will get the references in the next chapter, for sure!], and their eyes being opened to the social realities (this fact will be important later on in the series, maybe even in Book 2?) On the other hand, Chapter 12: Sumire's Birthday, will focus on... well, her birthday party. Stay tuned ;)_**

**_PS: What did you guys think of my descriptions of the Shinobi Union? The Amekage, Heiyakage, and Takikage as the Three Princely Kages? And what do you guys think about Shimo and the Frost Daimyo, who even from Naruto's days was sketchy AF (I simply expanded upon his misdeeds, drawing inspiration from the shit that's happening in my country right now... Pray for the Philippines, please everyone)_**


	11. The Forgotten Ones

**_Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter in this story! What I forgot to mention last Sunday is that this chapter is extra dark, somewhat based on real life (here in the Philippines), and involves some brutality... Sorry for forgetting =(_**

**_Also, I know perfectly well that my writing can get me hurt, kidnapped, arrested, or even killed extrajudicially (knowing my country), and I fully accept those risks and will continue to write anyway. If this series, or any of the other stories I still plan to write, can help attract attention to the atrocities happening in my country, so be it. Please, pray for my country and spread the word about what is happening. It is awful, but we cannot cower in fear. All men must die, and yet still all men must serve._**

**_As one of my persona; heroes once said, "Kung Hindi Tayo Kikibo, Sinong Kikibo? Kung Di Tayo Kikilos, Sinong Kikilos? Kung Hindi Ngayon, Kailan Pa?" ["Who will speak up, if we do not speak up? Who will act, if we do not act? If not now, when?]_**

**_With that glum note out of the way, here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 11: The Forgotten Ones**

Sumire opened her eyes and rubbed them slightly as she woke up in her dark and lonely apartment, which was in one of the few buildings left standing in Konoha. Her building, seven stories tall, was located in the eastern section of Konoha and survived, though it sustained a lot of damage to its façade, mainly due to the collapse of the skyscraper four blocks northeast. The collapse, followed by the pitch black cloud of ash and debris that flooded and flowed through the streets and into buildings for blocks on end, was a memory the one that she, along with everyone she was with four nights ago, would never forget.

Slowly, she rolled off her bed and got on her feet, went to the bathroom and began her usual morning routine of stretching, brushing her teeth, and taking a bath. She liked having her water unheated; it cost less money to pay in the apartment rent, and the ice cold water jolted her awake as it flowed down her purple hair and light skin.

At times though, it also reminded her of the rain in Ame at night. She did not particularly like to relive those traumatizing memories, since she remembered her father causing her so much pain in her childhood, all for a fruitless and worthless quest of vengeance that she herself would ultimately abandon. She would wonder, during these times of dark reminiscing, if she was a failure to her father, but she would catch herself before she delved too deeply with these thoughts, and she would instead quickly change the topics of her thoughts to more positive things, such as her dearest friends, Sarada, Wasabi, Namida, and Boruto, as well as missions, science, technology, and even playing video games.

After drying herself up and walking back to her bedroom, she turned on the light and looked around her. The room's walls were painted deep blue, with interweaving light purple and dark yellow floral decorations interspersed on the walls and corners of the room. The bookshelf was neatly organized into two main categories: science and technology books, and romance novellas, with a few history and social studies books making up a significant minority as well. On the floor near the wall opposite the window and bed was her game console plugged in to her medium-sized television set, with all her favorite games stacked and displayed beside the TV. On her neat wooden desk, which was close to her game console and to the doorway, the gun that she had retrieved from her dying foe lay disassembled. Sumire had been investigating and researching more about the weapon on her computer, which was right beside her new firearm.

On her bedside table and cabinet stood 5 pictures frames. The first was a photo with their whole class, which had been taken shortly after their graduation exams ended. In the picture, Boruto was making a fun mess in the center, and Sumire was right beside him, covering her laugh and her smile with her hand. The second was a more recent photo of the group of friends, complete at the time with 15 people: The twelve members of Teams 5, 7, 10, and 15, together with Himawari, Ryogi, and Yodo. The third was a solo picture, the same photo used for her ID card when she still worked for Katasuke's company. The fourth was an old and somewhat faded picture of her and her mother combing her hair. Sumire missed terribly those old days. The fifth and final picture, and definitely one of Sumire's most cherished memories, showed her and Sarada taking a selfie while holding up mini-Nue. The most important part about it was that Boruto was behind her, his hand on her shoulder, giving his grin and thumbs-up combination pose.

While dressing up with her usual outfit for days when she would only stay at home, she thought about what she had planned for that day. In all the chaos that followed the attack, the massive scale of the destruction in Konoha, and the fact that her and all of her friends helping with the rebuilding process in whatever ways they could, it was very difficult to keep track of all the events taking place.

"Wait," she paused, remembering that there was something special about that day. "It's my birthday! That means everyone's coming over here later!" She quickly left her bedroom and looked around her in the living room. It was sparkling clean as usual, since Sumire always made sure to clean it every night before going to bed. She did this so that whenever Lord Naruto would pass by to check on how she was doing, or if Sarada, Chocho, Wasabi and Namida came over on short notice to hang out, her apartment would at least look presentable and welcoming.

"At least I don't need to clean anything for now," Sumire sighed with relief, as she walked to her kitchen to prepare her breakfast. She opened her refrigerator, and looked at the food she had stored inside. In the chiller compartment, she had fresh vegetables, which she would make into her usual breakfast of her own homemade tsukumeno. She also had several boxes of cereal and cartons of milk, which would she would add to her breakfast routine on the days that she had missions with Team 15. Looking at other ingredients in the pantry this time, she found some brown bread, which she would make into some fried bread crusts, one of her favorite foods, for her snacks. Since she ate those three meals so often, and also because it was her birthday, she decided to eat something else for a change.

In the pantry, she also found some sticky rice, a pack of cocoa powder to be made into liquid chocolate, and some sugar. Immediately, she thought of making _"champorado"_, or chocolate rice porridge, given that it would be relatively easy and quick to make. She also saw an unopened can of creamy coconut milk, which would make the champorado taste much sweeter and much better. She remembered that she, Namida, Wasabi, and Hanabi had received cans of these as gifts and rewards for successfully completing an escort mission in Kiri two months ago. It had been only a week since they reunited then, yet it was like they had never been apart. Their respective abilities had all improved markedly, and so did their chemistry. When an assassination attempt was made on their assigned escort, a high-ranking diplomat between Konoha and Kiri, Team 15 was well prepared. They foiled the attack, ended up killing the assassins, and uncovered their leader, who turned out to be an old farmer from the hinterlands close by.

As she started making the champorado by heating the chocolate and rice together in a pot, she poured a small amount of the coconut milk into her mug, and then put a teaspoon of sugar into it. Afterwards, she poured a portion of the steaming chocolate-rice mixture into her mug, then mixed the steaming chocolate porridge well, such that the white and dark brown blended well and turned into a lighter shade of brown.

As she finished making her breakfast, she got a teaspoon and walked over to the living room, sitting down on the long yellowish couch. While she was eating, Sumire's memory flashed back to their mission months ago, and what they discovered back then that has since haunted them to this day.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"There's the target house," Wasabi had told them after using her sharp cat-eyes to scout their somewhat run-down surroundings. "West North West, around a kilometer and a half away from our current position. I can't see any movement in the wooden shack."

Namida sighed deeply, a hint of nervousness coming from her voice. "Did Hanabi-sensei really need to stay behind to protect Sir Sotto? What if this goes horribly wrong?"

"Hanabi-sensei stayed behind because she needs to protect Sotto while we're on our mission", Sumire responded. "And I'm sure that she also stayed behind because she trusts in our abilities."

"She's right," Wasabi added. "Hanabi-sensei stayed behind so that if there was another attempt on the life of Sir Sotto while we're away, she can protect him. And once we capture this old man and turn him over to Kiri, then we can go back to Konoha, get paid, and go shopping."

The three girls snickered lightly amongst themselves as they silently snuck up to the old wooden house. They noted that most of the houses in the area known as Paloma Town had been burned down and were in shambles. Sumire took point and crept under the open window on the right side of the doorway, and motioned the other two to come to her.

As the other two followed, they heard the voice of a man singing along to an old song. _"When we were kids, when we were young… things seemed so perfect…"_

The three girls continued to listen to the old man's hymn. _"No use in sitting and thinking over what you did, when you can lay back and enjoy it through your kids…" _However, it soon became apparent to the other two that Namida knew this song very well, as she was rocking her head while following the lyrics and rhythm.

_"__Sometimes, it seems like lately, I just don't know…"_ He sang with so much emotion, and so Namida unconsciously sang along. "That I sit back and go with the flow…"

Sumire and Wasabi both stared open-mouthed at her. Namida's eyes grew wide upon realizing that she had just blown their cover. "Hehehe… Sorry about that…" She apologized while rubbing her neck, "that was the bridge to the second chorus…"

The front door swung open, and the old man, whom Sumire recognized from the mission briefer they had been given beforehand, walked towards them. "You have a wonderful voice, young lady. I will say this: I'm surprised you'd know that song. Not many people of your generation do."

"I'm a bit of an oldies fan," Namida admitted. "The music nowadays is nowhere as good."

"You're right," he replied as he leaned onto the wall. "Songs back then used to have so much more meaning to them. Nowadays, they're all about inconsequential, non-important things…"

"I feel the same way! It's such a shame that-"

Namida was pulled away by Wasabi, who whispered in her ear. "You do know he's dangerous, right? He's the one who tried to have Sir Sotto killed. Why are you talking to him?"

Sumire took over. "Sir… umm…"

"My name is Trajano," he gently replied.

"Right," Sumire nodded. "Sir Trajano, with all due respect, did you order the hit on Mr. Sotto?"

The man nodded slowly. "Indeed I did. But I have my reasons. If you would all come inside, I can perhaps tell you my story. Oh, and I'm preparing some tea. Do you girls want any?"

"What flavor?" Sumire and Namida simultaneously asked, to Wasabi's dismay and exasperation.

"Chamomile, jasmine, and matcha."

"Matcha!" Without hesitation, Namida and Sumire nodded, but as Trajano went back into his cottage, Wasabi confronted her two teammates and pulled them into a huddle.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Wasabi told them. "What if it's a trap? What if he poisons us? What if he attacks us? Or tries to bail on us?"

"I don't think he's that kind of guy," Sumire reasoned, "nor do I think he can get away from us if he tried… And he said he's going to tell us his story, right?"

Wasabi sighed. "Might as well. But once we're done, we're bringing him back to Kiri, one way or another. And then hopefully we'll get enough money to buy us some new equipment and clothes."

Namida agreed. "And enough to treat Hanabi-sensei out to a good restaurant for dinner."

The three girls of Team 15 then entered the shack. Trajano motioned for them to sit on the couch in the small living room, and went back to the kitchen as the kettle whistled. He also resumed the song, and this time Namida sang along with just as much feelings. _"These are the days of our lives. They've flown in the swiftness of time. These days are all gone now, but some things remain: When I look, and I find, no change…"_

"You're right," Sumire commented as she was listening to their impromptu duet. "It really is a good song. It's so poignant… meaningful…"

Trajano returned to them with four cups of tea, one for each of them. "You bet! After all my years, this is still one of my favorites. Anyway, you three wanted to know my side of the story, correct?"

"Yes sir," Sumire respectfully replied.

Trajano gingerly nodded before rising up from the chair opposite Team 15. He walked over to the nearby cabinet, brought out a folder filled with documents, along with a picture book, and then returned to his seat, laying open the folder in the process.

"Now, where to begin," Trajano began with a sip of tea. "Alright. My name is Trajano, of the Archimede clan. I'm a farmer, and a fighter for my fellow farmers at that. In any case, years ago, I founded, and headed for a long while, the peasant federation and union known as the Scattered Asch. Though I don't expect you young ones to know about it."

He flipped the papers over to the document with over 400 signature members, as well as a huge colored group picture of all the signees. "The purpose of my group is to defend the rights of my fellow farmers, and all the poor and vulnerable people that we can reach out to help. I've defended the green and serene farming town of Paloma, and the people that have lived here, for many years. I've driven away rich and abusive landlords, powerful industrial companies and their damned pollution, and greedy urban officials. All… well, almost all legally, by the way."

"That sounds noble," Sumire commented as the girls drank their tea, "but dangerous as well. Standing up for the powerless and voiceless."

"It is dangerous," Trajano concurred as he showed them another document, this one showing a deed for land. "However, as the world modernized, it became easier for those city folk from Kiri to encroach on our land. Gradually, our land was bought out, bit-by-bit, hectare-by-hectare. They said that it was necessary to accommodate the increasing urbanization of Kiri, the expansion of the capital city, and its growing population. Yet, my family, my closest friends, and I, all refused to sell our land to the rich and influential land grabbers from the city. We stuck to the deeds of our lands. Even if that pissed them off, I figured that we had to make a stand. If I couldn't stand up to them, who else would?"

"Fast forward to around a week ago," Trajano continued as the girls listened attentively. "A certain high-ranking diplomat came here… I'm sure you know his name well by now. He gave us a rather brash ultimatum: _'Either we sell all our land directly to him, and at a highly discounted price of minus 95 percent at that, or he would use extreme force to root us out and claim it for free.' _I flat-out refused his conditions to his face, so that earned me his ire."

While Sumire leaned on the arm of the couch and Wasabi sat cross-armed, Namida pulled her knees up to her chest, her arms wrapping around her upper shins, before asking, "What happened after you turned him away?"

Trajano's voice suddenly became lower, as if it was painful to speak about it, and his sadness and anger became apparent. "Have you heard of the 'Rape of Paloma' yet?"

"No," Sumire replied, "but I saw that most of the houses here burned down. What happened here?"

"Of course you wouldn't have heard. Just four days ago, he sent his goons and mercenaries, his private army the SDS, or Sotto Death Squad, to attack my defenseless village. I was away working in the fields with my friends when we heard the screams. We saw thick black smoke rising from our homes. We ran back to Paloma as fast as we could, and we fought off some of those raiders and killed them. But when I… got back to my house…"

As he trailed off, he tried to maintain his composure, but failed. He opened the picture book and pushed it towards the girls, and then broke down. Sumire pulled it closer to see the pictures taken, but immediately closed her eyes and looked away from the awful carnage. Namida audibly reacted in disgust, and ran to the window to breathe fresh air. Wasabi stared blankly in shock at the gruesome pictures taken.

"Those fucking Kiri bastards… They… they lynched my wife… cut her stomach open… pulled out our unborn child… and smashed his body on the hard ground as she watched… And my younger daughter… they threw acid on her face… and stabbed her in the throat to stop her screaming while they gang-raped her…"

"The other villagers," he continued, "were nailed to trees… some were disemboweled… castrated… beheaded… We were only able… to save a few who were nailed…"

"This is fucking horrible!" Wasabi finally spoke up. "How could anyone do this?"

"And now you know why… why I ordered the assassination," Trajano pointed out, his outright anger clear as day. "The survivors of my village… all 47 of us… All of us wanted his blood in our hands. We need to avenge our fallen… our families and friends and loves ones. We agreed that the reprisal be staged yesterday. However, it seems as though it failed… that _Sotto_ is still alive, and I assume that you were the ones who foiled our attempt?"

Feeling a wave of regret, Sumire bit her lip before nodding to his question. "We were… we were assigned this mission… by both Konoha and Kiri itself…" She then pulled out her mission scroll and quoted it. "Our mission was… to protect Mr. Sotto from suspected attempts on his life… by some radical leftist rebels…"

"Haha…" Trajano dryly laughed upon hearing how he and his friends were described. "They had the temerity… The audacity! To call us rebels…"

"We were going to be rewarded at least 2500 ryo for this," Wasabi sadly noted, "and a lot of points that we need for our shinobi team ranking system back in Konoha, so we can advance further in rank. But this is just twisted… wretched…"

"Now you see why the shinobi system is broken," Trajano mused as he drank the last of his tea. "It used to stand for being a system of justice for the poor, to protect us from abuses of the rich. However, nowadays it mainly serves to serve the whims of the powerful, to keep the rich in power, and the poor in their place. We poor people are the "Forgotten Ones" in your modern-day society… We are neglected, abused, and oppressed even beyond our breaking points, and we simply can't do stand up and fight back for ourselves anymore. Not since the shinobi cast aside their age-old responsibilities of keeping the powerful in check, and protecting the rights of the defenseless… when you shinobi started prioritizing your profits and keeping your rich patrons in power."

Sumire shook her head hesitantly. "But the shinobi system most often works! And it would have worked in this situation as well, had it not been subverted by the lies of a rich, influential person."

"Had we known about The Rape of Paloma", Wasabi reasoned, "and about what happened to your town because of Mr. Sotto, everything would have ended up differently. If the people back in Konoha had found out about this, they would never have allowed us to go on this mission."

Namida nodded in agreement. "If we only knew the truth, then we would have done things differently."

"And that is precisely another reason why the shinobi system is broken," Trajano pointed out, much to the initial confusion of the three girls. "'Truth' is, and always has been, power. But nowadays, 'Truth' is subjective. It isn't necessarily fact-based anymore. Rather, it is based on opinion, on what the majority of people believe in. And the rich and influential can manipulate what their stories, their histories, and their versions of the truth are; they can merely start lies, spread lies, and repeat lies, until there comes a point where most people believe it to be truth anyway. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, I now only ask, _'What is the cost of lies?'_"

"The cost of lies… is too high… all words themselves lose their meaning… Truth itself can now no longer be relied upon." The old man paused for breath. Afterwards, he looked the three in the eyes. "The rich and powerful people can wield and mold and rewrite their truth to get what they want and sway people to fight for them, at the expense of the powerless people such as us."

Trajano reiterated, "This entire system is broken, and only beneficial to those currently in power. And since those same rich people will pay and manipulate shinobi like you to keep that system in place, I truly think that the only way we can overthrow our oppressors, and free those currently bound and crushed under the immense weight of their greed and lust for power… is by revolution."

"No," Wasabi objected. "It's not the only way… It can't be…"

"When we were younger," Sumire revealed to Trajano, "and still studying in the Konoha Academy, we once had a field trip to Kiri. There, we witnessed an attempted revolution by people who were discontent with the direction that Lord Chojuro, your Mizukage, was taking Kiri to."

"I had heard about that attempted revolt," Trajano told her.

"It was put down by Lord Chojuro, with help from Boruto-kun, Sarada-chan, Kagura, and our other friends. Still, it was nothing but trouble and hassle. Similarly, even though you are justified in wanting a revolution, thousands of innocent people could be killed, and millions of innocent lives will be negatively affected, due to the inevitable chaos during and after the revolution. That's why I don't believe in a violent revolution. After nearly every revolution will inevitably come more chaos, violence, and many more negative consequences."

"So, what is it that you do believe in?"

"I will be honest… There was a time where I believed in violence and bloodshed like what you believe in now," Sumire admitted to Trajano. "I tried to destroy Konoha before, because of what Konoha did to my family, and the resulting years of physical and mental and emotional abuse I had to endure from my own father because of them…" Sumire inhaled deeply to release the anger and misery she felt from remembering her childhood. "But now, because of Boruto-kun and all of my best friends, I believe in peaceful reformation over violent revolution," Sumire affirmed her beliefs. "And I they believe in Lord Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, who has been able to introduce so much reform to Konoha over a short period of time."

Trajano then asked a follow-up question, one that stumped even Sumire and left her once-firm beliefs and ideals shaken. "But what about the people who are dying right now? The people who won't see the day your reforms are put into action? What will you say to them? _'Sorry you have to die today, I promise we'll change things soon?'_ Can you really look us all in the eye and tell us that bullshit?"

When Sumire could not answer, Trajano continued, "Reforms are too slow. They will take years, even decades, to fully materialize. We cannot wait for you if you want reform over revolt. By then, we'll all be dead, crushed by the weight of the deception and the apathy and the brutality of this social cancer! We will die while you take your sweet time treating this social cancer with your slow, weak medicine of reform. Only a strong, quick-acting, effective medicine can save us now. At this point, we have no choice: Revolution it is, Freedom or Death."

Since the three girls stayed silent, Trajano sighed in defeat. "Truthfully, I didn't expect you three to understand the perspectives of the poor and the oppressed." He then gingerly stood and walked to his cabinet, from which he grasped of his old katana. While walking back to his guests, he lamented, "All of my friends and loved ones have been hurt because we refused to give up our home and our ideals. Most of them were gruesomely tortured and killed."

Trajano sat back down and closed his eyes in remembrance. "Liliosa. Quimpo. Macli-ing. Hilao. Valero. Mijares. Dulag. Hermon. Nimfa. Jopson. Tierra. Escandor. Narciso. Lorena. Barros. Evelio. Begg. Sarmiento. Dalisay. Rosca. Lacaba. Lumbera. Maranan. Delta. Those are the names of those I knew most personally to have suffered terribly, without any recompense and recognition. And there are many others whose names and memories have been lost forever to history."

"Are all of them…?" Sumire trailed off.

"No, the last four are still alive, but have all left the Land of Water, either in search of peace or war. Among that group, my older daughter, Delta, is still alive. She left to go on a journey around the world a few years ago. She knows that her life is better spent on bringing about help, bringing about positive change in the lives of people less fortunate than her."

"Now, as for myself…" Trajano unsheathed his sword, which had maintained its metallic sheen throughout the years. "Now that my plan has failed, and knowing that I am now cornered, I would like to leave this world in the same honorable ways that my ancestors did."

"Please Mister Trajano," Sumire pleaded and stood, "please look at the possibilities. If you tell the truth and testify to the courts in Kiri, you would be able to live peacefully with the friends and family that still remain. On the other hand, Sir Sotto and the others responsible for committing the Rape of Paloma will go to jail, and their reputations damaged beyond repair."

Trajano gently shook his head and addressed her theory. "Sadly, I'll still be locked up in prison for the rest of my life, much longer than Sotto will, because I tried to assassinate one of the government higher-ups, no matter what my reason is. And even if I somehow avoid jail time altogether, Sotto will send his cronies to hunt me down and kill me, and they'll just hunt down the rest of the people I love. I'd like the buck to stop with me…"

"If only the world actually worked as you think it would," the old man reflected further. "If it did, we would never have gotten into any situation such as this. The fact is that nobody truly cares about the poor, nor would any sane person nowadays truly side with the poor and go against the rich. This world is getting worse, though people aren't willing to admit it. Anyway, I do have one final favor to ask of you three."

"What do you mean?" Wasabi inquired.

"If any of you ever get to meet my daughter, Delta, then please remind her to keep her promise to me. Remind her… _'Never Forgive. Never Forget. Never Again.'"_

"Please tell her yourself," Sumire begged him. "I believe in what you said, and I truly believe we can serve justice."

"We'll put in a good word for you as well," Namida added, "to both the Hokage and the Mizukage. We'll make sure of it."

Trajano only shook his head. "I've already lost my dearest friends, my wife, my younger daughter, and soon enough, my land and home, which I have fought to protect for so long. I only have my dignity now, and that Sotto of yours will further humiliate and torture me to brag about and show off the influence he wields. At least, if I die by my own hand, I'll still have my honor and my pride left."

"Now please," Trajano asked Sumire point-blank. "Help me end… end my pain, my suffering, and my humiliation." Sumire began to internally panic, as it seemed that Trajano's mind was already made up. She shook her head vigorously, with some tears jarring loose from her eyelids and flowing down her cheeks.

"No… Please don't give up hope," she asked in desperation. "Life is too precious just to throw-"

Sumire could not even finish her sentence. Within a blink of an eye, Trajano stabbed himself in the stomach with his katana, in his act of seppuku. As if he was unsatisfied with the resulting pain, he then torqued the katana, and dragged his sword sideways, clipping his intestines and sending them bursting out of his torso. He then fell backwards onto the wooden floor, groaning and convulsing.

"NO!" Sumire cried out as she looked away in disgust and pity.

"Shit, I'm going to be sick," Namida remarked as she turned to the side of the sofa and puked in disgust. "Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeh…"

On the other hand, Wasabi had some experience and training as a medic, and so she was more used to blood and gore than her two friends. However, she immediately knew that his condition was moribund, especially for a person of his old age and injuries that severe, and so she decided not to treat him. Trajano's mouth began filling up and overflowing with a lot of bubbling, dark-crimson blood, and he slowly began to choke.

He looked pleadingly at Sumire, who now felt guilty for prolonging his pain. Finally giving in to his request, she stepped forward. "I'm so sorry… I really am…" Sumire quietly apologized, and finished him off with a single water bullet to the head.

*******XXXXXXX*******

As she ate the sugary breakfast she had made, Sumire remembered that after they had given Trajano a quick and decent burial, she, Wasabi, and Namida all returned to Kiri and told Hanabi of what they had learned. They even showed her the picture book Trajano owned.

_'__But,'_ Sumire recalled, _'even though Hanabi-sensei was sympathetic, Sotto is such an influential figure, an important, high-ranking member of the Kiri government. She said that we couldn't accuse him on such weak grounds like the mere testimony of a criminal. And if we did, they could spark a diplomatic incident between the Land of Fire and its close ally in the Land of Water. So we were forced to keep quiet about it…_'

She sighed._ 'That was the day. The day my team changed. Our eyes were opened to the realities and injustices of our world in ways that most of the other teams had most likely not experienced yet…'_

However, she caught herself before she could go and mull about on this line of thought much further. Not wanting to think of depressing memories on her birthday, or for her friends to be worried about her if they see her all depressed on her special day, Sumire shook off her former thoughts and turned her mind to other things. In particular, she first thought about her new weapon, and then afterwards, the fact that all her friends would be coming over in a few hours to visit and celebrate her birthday.

Once she finished her breakfast, she returned to her bedroom and walked over to her desk, was now serving as a makeshift working table. On the table was the weapon she had recovered from the Kara member she had drained of chakra. She had intentionally sent him to his death in a way, but she more or less accidentally killed him with his own weapon. Beside the disassembled weapon was her laptop, where she had been doing a lot of research to figure out what the weapon before her was.

According to her research on the Internet, it was a relatively new weapon called a firearm, or simply a gun, though she thought that "gun" was either misleading or not specific enough as various other types of guns had been developed before, a lot of them looking far different from each other. These new guns had been developed in the Land of Iron, as well as in Takumi, where some of the artisans had successfully restarted the weapons manufactories there, albeit now they were producing far different and far deadlier weapons. There were also new guns that had been introduced by some traders and arms dealers from Merikhan, the continent far to the west of their own continent, though not much of these weapons had been sold yet.

She also studied about the different kinds of guns. A pistol was a gun that was good for close to medium range combat, and would usually have 3-6 bullets per magazine. Shotguns were devastating close-range weapons that would shoot out slugs and buckshot rounds, and would have 5-15 of these rounds at a time. Submachine guns and assault rifles were very versatile weapons made for short, medium, and long-range firefights, and a host of many other conditions. They had anywhere between 30-50 bullets in a magazine. Machine pistols were said to be a combination of pistols and submachine guns, and had 20-30 rounds that could all be fired very quickly, while machine guns were made to fire a lot of rounds in a short period of time, ostensibly to cover other shooters or to devastate enemy positions. Those machine guns tended around a hundred bullets, yet could use them all in less than 10 seconds.

Sumire learned from researching online that this particular gun, which lay disassembled before her on the table, was specifically designated a sniper rifle, which had a maximum capacity of 10 rounds in its feed system. It had a variable scope on top and could reliably hit a target around 500 meters away. Some people have claimed to have hit targets over a kilometer and half away using this weapon, although apparently those were either lucky shots or done with a lot of practice. It launched metallic bullets, made from iron, copper, or a combination of the two, using gunpowder cased inside the bullets, triggered by a firing cap within the gun's firing chamber. Sumire had ordered more batches of bullets and magazines online two nights ago, when the Internet connection was finally restored in Konoha, and they arrived from the Land of Iron yesterday. She wanted to test her weapon thoroughly in the Nue's dimension, so she wouldn't cause her neighbors any frights from the bangs her weapon causes.

The rifle was a bit too heavy for Sumire, so she had shortened the gun's wooden stock last night, carefully following directions from the website she was reading to make sure she didn't accidentally destroy the weapon. Sumire knelt down and started piecing the rifle back together, and within ten minutes it was completely fixed. It felt lighter as well, partially due to her sawing off part of the wooden frame, and partially due to her getting used to carrying the load anyway.

Sumire looked at the clock in her kitchen, and it read 10:50 am. Sarada had told her yesterday that she, Chocho, and others would be there about 2:30 later in the afternoon, while Boruto had separately told her he, Shikadai, and the rest of their group would arrive an hour after that. Still, Wasabi and Namida had informed her that they would be there by 12:30 for lunch, so she had just over one and a half hours to prepare for her first guests. Suddenly, she felt mini-Nue rubbing against her leg, and she heard it making a cute noise, not unlike a purr. An idea hatched in her head.

"Nue," Sumire squatted down and patted it on the head. "You rebuilt your dimension based on the memories we had of the place, right? We can spend the next hour or so with target practice with this gun there. Also, I would love it if you could teach me more of my abilities as well."

"NUE NUE!" The little creature purred in delight, and Sumire went to the kitchen to get metal cans and plastic bottles. She put them in a paper bag, went back to the living room and strapped the rifle on her.

"I'm ready." Nue produced a small, purplish, spiraling portal, large enough for Sumire to fall through completely. Nue followed suit, jumping into the portal just as it closed.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Sumire landed on an old stump that looked like the one where she, Boruto, and Mitsuki had their battle years before, though as Sumire looked closer, it became clear that it was not exactly the same. Sumire looked around her, and she saw her old dimension, the one that she and Nue would spend hours in, but somehow the place looked and felt somewhat different.

As Sumire closed her eyes and focused, she felt no concentration of dark chakra anywhere in the dimension. Because of this, she realized that what she was seeing around her now was a remake or reconstruction of their old dimension, except that this time, Nue did not reform the place out of negative chakra, but rather chakra in general.

"You were able to rebuild this dimension with normal chakra?"

Nue, who had grown to its mid-sized self, looked at her and snuggled up to her. "I told you it would work. No Gozu Tennou or dark chakra needed at all. That was just your father's horrible idea; the only thing the dark chakra was needed for was the bomb, which was his intention for us."

Sumire marveled at the world around her. It was brighter this time, and the colors of the trees around her were far more vibrant and less gray than they were the last time she was there. There was grass growing on the ground, moss growing on the trees and rocks, and even a small stream flowing. Gone were the dark memories of her hiding here, away from the wrath and expectations of her father. Replacing them, memories of her dearest group of friends and the wonderful times they spent together came flooding in.

"They have to see this," Sumire said as she breathed in the fresh air. "I'll make sure to show this to them later, before the party ends."

"Anyway Nue," Sumire turned to Nue, "can you teach me more of the abilities you were talking about? I really want to learn to use them, so I can use them to their fullest potential."

"Yes," Nue told her as it leapt from the stump. "Do you need a refreshment for the abilities you already use?"

Sumire nodded as she followed Nue, jumping down from the tall stump. "Just to be sure we'll have all bases covered."

"Very well," Nue purred. "Just a short rundown of what we usually use. Of course, you can summon me, and drain chakra using the dark chakra snake, though by now you probably have guessed that I can drain more than just dark chakra. I can drain chakra of any type."

"Yeah, I know that."

"Aside from that," Nue continued, "I store the chakra that I gain inside this dimension, and I can output that same chakra out to help others."

"Yes, you reminded me of that when we helped Lord Hokage heal up."

"Also, as I can output my stored chakra to infuse it to others, I can also output it to supply you with more chakra, and without either of us having to explode at that. In short, I can function as a huge supply of fuel for you."

"Yup," Sumire thought about it, "I sort of know that already."

"That's basically all that you know, right?" When Sumire nodded once more, Nue continued. "Alright, onto some new lessons. For one, did you know that I could amplify the strength of even normal attacks, like your water spirit bullets, by increasing amount of chakra used?"

"I think I knew that," Sumire mused. "Remember the time we recaptured the huge wolf for the Konoha Zoo? I needed to lessen the power behind my water bullets so I wouldn't kill the wolf?"

"Ah yes. So yes, I can vary the amount of chakra to vary the power behind the jutsus. Connected to that, I can increase the chakra I send over to you, and when I do that, you can unlock use advanced jutsus that need a lot of chakra. For example, if I supply you with the sufficient amount of chakra, I can let you use jutsus such as Surfing Strike, Surging Storm, Giant Vortex, and other attacks or techniques that require tons of chakra."

Sumire was paying close attention to Nue's lesson, as she was interested in all the new techniques she could try out. "I really want to try all out those new jutsus! I hope we can practice those sometime."

"I can also use Wood Style," Nue told her to her surprise.

"Wait, you can?" Sumire asked, her mouth agape in wonder.

"Yes. Remember that I'm partly made out of Hashirama cells? Because of those Hashirama cells in my body, I can use Wood Style."

"That's amazing! Is that how you got all these trees and plants back here when you reformed this dimension?"

"Yes, that's what happened. Also, I do remember having used wood style at least one time a few years ago, back when we were still draining people of their chakra."

"I don't remember that anymore," Sumire replied after trying to remember back years ago, but stopping after reaching some traumatic memories from the time she tried to hurt and kill everyone in Konoha, memories that she didn't want to relive anymore.

"Sumire dear," Nue looked at her with concern, "are you alright?"

Sumire realized that she was worrying Nue with her depressed, melancholic look. "Don't worry," she reassured Nue as she flashed a smile. "I'm fine."

"Okay then, next up is detonation."

"Wait," Sumire looked at it with a look of worry and horror. "Is that the one where you and I… blow up?"

"The one that your father intended for us to do, yes. Though he intended for both you and I to explode and wipe out and devastate Konoha, the truth is that either of us can do it by ourselves, and it will still have the same effect." Sumire kept looking at Nue blankly. "To be honest, when you were on the mission to detonate on Konoha, I was planning to whisk you away back to this dimension just before I blew up, so you wouldn't have to die needlessly. Now, how we do this is-"

"Please…" Nue was interrupted by hitched breaths that came from Sumire. Her head down was down, and her eyes were starting to water. "I don't want to learn about this one… it's altogether evil. I don't want to die, nor do I want you to die." She fell down to her knees, her hands tightly clutching her chest, as if she was deeply in pain. "You know that… that I want to live, have fun, spend time with, and make more memories, better memories with Sarada, Wasabi, Namida, Boruto, Mitsuki, Shikadai, and everyone else!"

"I understand you," Nue reassured her. "But it's not inherently evil. Remember what Boruto says? _'Nothing is inherently good or evil. It depends with how you use it.'_ The same rings true for even this." Sumire did not reply to Nue, and she just knelt on the ground.

"Okay… I think that's enough for one day," Nue suggested, seeing that Sumire was still having a hard time managing her feelings and her traumatic memories. "I can teach you more abilities another time. For now, you just go and enjoy yourself. It's your birthday after all!" There was still no reply from Sumire, who looked troubled as she stared a figurative hole into the ground, with her slightly trembling hand still clutching at her chest.

Now in panic, Nue thought about how to cheer Sumire up. "Mother… umm… How about we try that new gun of yours out?" Sumire looked up at Nue, then grasped the rifle's strap and pulled it off her shoulder. She also wiped away the tears that had fallen from her eyes.

"I'm sorry Nue," Sumire apologized as she hugged its furry mane. "I guess I still need to better manage my feelings."

"It's okay… that was my fault…"

"Can you place these at a distance?" Sumire asked Nue as she gave her the paper bag with the bottle and the two metal cans. "I'll try my new weapon out."

Nue nodded, bit down slightly on the paper bag, and ran off to place the targets. Sumire knelt down, extended the bipod near the front, and placed it on a flat stone before her. As she put herself in a prone position, lying flat on her stomach in the slight breeze and cool grass, she held her weapon like she had seen others in video demonstrations did. Using its worm-looking tail, Nue placed the tin can gently onto the ground in front of another stump in the distance. Sumire looked into the rifle's attached telescopic sight, which magnified the faraway tin can by a large degree, although it was a somewhat blurry image. She experimented on the knobs on the sight until she got the image of the target to clear up, just as Nue returned to her. "Is that far enough, Sumire dear?"

"Yes," Sumire smiled as she looked at Nue. Nue saw that the only traces of her tears were the wet trails on her cheeks and her slightly red and puffy eyes. Sumire returned her focus to the scope and centered the center dot on the can. "Here goes nothing." Sumire pulled the trigger, and a loud bang and a powerful kickback to her shoulder followed immediately. Sumire kept looking at the scope, and after a second she saw a cloud of dust and dirt being kicked up before the can.

"That was quite short," Sumire commented as she turned the bolt upwards and pulled back, allowing the smoking, spent cartridge of the bullet fly out. She looked back at the sight and now noticed that aside from the red dot in the center, there were other lines and marks, which Sumire remembered to be the rangefinder she had read about. "Nue, how far away did you place the target?"

"About 200 meters," Nue replied. "Why? Is it too far for your weapon?"

"Nope, I'm just checking this scope," Sumire told Nue as she pushed back on the bolt and turned it downwards. "I'll try compensating for 200 meters then." Sumire breathed deeply to calm her nerves, something she had forgotten to do the first time, and aimed with the target two lines down from the center dot. She then pulled the trigger once more. The same kickback and booming sound occurred, but this time, the bullet landed just meters before the can, kicking up bits of ground and grass where it embedded itself. "Short again, but I'm getting there. It looks like it's off by just a little bit now." After removing the spent cartridge, Sumire now made a little adjustment with the aim, with the can now just below the second line of the rangefinder, and once again breathed heavily. She fired once more, and this time, a metallic clang followed the boom of her rifle, and the can tumbled in midair backwards into the tree and then rolled away out of sight.

"Yes!" Sumire raised her fist, feeling joy and fulfillment. She then looked at her companion, who was sitting beside her. "I'm loving this weapon! This has so much potential!"

"It definitely looks like it," Nue remarked as it examined the brown hued weapon balanced on the ground. "But it's heavy, noisy, and it will give away your position after one shot."

Sumire became somewhat embarrassed from her fawning over her weapon. "Well," she replied, "it may not matter if my position is given away. If I'm in a strongly defended position, I could simply pick off the enemies while Wasabi, Namida, Hanabi-sensei, and others keep them busy. And if they reach me, I could switch to close range combat anyway." Then Sumire thought further, and continued, "Though if we were on a stealth mission, you'd be correct. If we could somehow eliminate the sound the rifle makes-"

A loud, pleasant, ringing sound echoed through the dimension, interrupting Sumire's thoughts. "Was that… the doorbell?"

"I think so," Nue replied to her. "Shall we go back now?"

Sumire nodded. "That must be Wasabi and Namida." Nue formed a portal to return to Konoha. Before she walked into the portal, Sumire happily commented, "If I practice enough, I could be the best sharpshooter Konoha has ever seen!"

Before she passed through the dark spiraling circle, Nue smiled reassuringly and replied, "I'm sure you will."

* * *

**_So... how did you guys like it? It is Sumire's birthday, and next chapter, Chapter 12: Sumire's Birthday, will actually be her birthday party, with all of the New Generation (plus some people from the old generation too!) will be in attendance. ^_^_**

**_However, in Chapter 13: Revelations, something dramatic will be revealed to all (obviously), and something really bad is going to happen that will spoil the party... Stay tuned! =O_**

**_Anyway, write in the comments: What do you guys expect from the next few chapters? It's Sumire's Birthday Arc, after all =D_**

**_PS: Did you guys see the following references?_**

**_1) The lyrics of "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" by Queen! Still one of my faves hehee3_**

**_2) All the names that Trajano dropped (except Delta, of course)! They were real Filipinos who were tortured and/or killed during the Martial Law years (1972-1981)_**

**_3) Paloma? Sotto? Filipinos everywhere will know what I'm referring to... =O _**

**_4) "What is the cost of lies?" comes from Chernobyl, the fantastic 2019 HBO series that is so relevant to our modern times._**

**_5) The sniper rifle Sumire now owns is awesome! ;)_**


	12. Sumire's Sweet Sixteen

**_Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! And this time, it's about Sumire's Birthday! ^_^_**

**_Yes, this was supposed to be the chapter uploaded on June 12, but slow me was not able to do it in time. Sad me huhuhu sowwy =(_**

**_Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this! This is a bit of a relaxing chapter, because the next chapters will be full of intrigue, shocking developments, suspense, and action. =D_**

**_PS: Shoutout to Benteja on Twitter for giving me a hilarious idea about an alternative way that Mitsuki can say "Happy Birthday" XD_**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Sumire's Sweet Sixteen**

Sumire returned to her tidy apartment through the portal, which dissipated shortly after Nue, who was now in his normal mini-form, jumped through it. After gently putting her rifle down on her makeshift worktable, she went from her bedroom to the living room and turned most of the lights in her apartment on to make it look more warm and welcoming, then finally she went to her front door.

Trying to maintain her excitement, she quickly opened the door, only to find Wasabi and Namida in a hot, tight embrace, kissing each other deeply, and running their hands through the other's hair. Sumire could not help but grin at the sight of two of her closest friends deeply and madly in love with each other. She felt very, very happy for them, and also a bit awkward as she thought she wasn't supposed to see this. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and then asked, "Are you two done yet?"

Once she opened her eyes, Sumire saw both Wasabi and Namida looking straight at her, blushing tomato-red as they immediately broke off from each other, the lust and love still clear in their eyes. All of a sudden, Sumire burst into laughter, followed by her two best friends, who then enveloped and squished her in the tightest, deepest hug she had ever experienced.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUMIRE!" Wasabi and Namida danced around in a circle, eventually dragging Sumire along with them into her apartment, and not so gently kicking at the door to close it. They brought Sumire to the living room, where there was a carpet, some couches to sit on, a table in the middle, and some snacks on top of it. "One, two, three," Wasabi counted as she and Namida began to sing a happy birthday song for Sumire. _"Namida's singing is definitely on-point," _Sumire noted to herself._ "Just like a sparrow's song, for which Namida was named."_

She beamed her smile as she looked at Wasabi, who was sitting right beside Namida on the couch opposite hers. _"Wasabi the cat is so lucky that she caught her little sparrow." _Sumire's thoughts carried her to an unintended topic._ "But cats sometimes nibble on and eat sparrows, so that's not exactly… wait that sounded so lewd OH NO NO NO NO NO NO!" _Sumire's eyes widened, her face blushing rapidly, and she started shaking her head violently, trying to get rid of the inappropriate yet hilarious thoughts in her mind. "Hawawawa…"

"Sumire," Wasabi approached her, "are you okay? What happened?"

Namida looked down. "Was my singing bad?"

Sumire, realizing how Wasabi and Namida had wrongly interpreted her motions, quickly shook her head and her arms. "No, of course not Namida! Your singing was absolutely wonderful and I loved it. Thank you so much, both of you!"

Wasabi tilted her head. "But why did you become so red all of a sudden? You weren't mad, were you?"

"No Wasabi, it's just… I accidentally thought of something really inappropriate. Sorry about that."

"What did you think of?" Namida inquired, and she and Wasabi both looked on with curiosity at Sumire, who blushed heavily before finally relenting.

"The cat… eats… the sparrow… specifically." Sumire felt her face heat up even more, and she could just imagine that it was as red as an apple. She looked at her friends' faces and saw that they both had wide grins and furrowed eyebrows on them, not to mention light snickers that they tried and failed to suppress.

"Oh my," Wasabi teasingly covered her mouth. "I never knew you fantasized about the two of us in that way."

"That's very naughty of you Sumire," Namida added while giggling, further compound the embarrassment that Sumire felt. "I didn't know you were into that."

In panic, Sumire waved her hands and face once more. "Hawawawa, it's nothing like that!" Wasabi and Namida laughed even more, until mini-sized Nue jumped up onto the table in front of them, and tried its best to pout and growl.

"Chill Nue," Wasabi told it in between fits of laughter. "We're only messing with Sumire." Nue purred, jumped onto Wasabi's lap and rubbed against her. After a few more minutes of teasing, giggling, and laughing, Namida wiped the tears away from her eyes, tears that were not from depression, but rather from laughing too much. Trying to compose herself, she switched topics. "Sorry about that, that was way too funny to pass up. Anyway, how about let's eat?"

Sumire's severe blush began to gradually recede, and she nodded. "Wasabi cooked some food for us," continued Namida.

"I have some desserts too," offered Sumire. "I could serve them after we eat, or maybe once Sarada, Boruto, and the others get here. Anyway, what food did you guys bring?"

Wasabi pulled several wooden containers from her bag and opened them, each one full of food that she herself cooked. "So there's grilled squid and fried calamari in one box, okonomiyaki with mayonnaise, shrimp, squid, and egg in the another, special wagyu beef and omurice in the third, and in the last box, some gyoza, kani cream korokke, and maki to top the meal off."

"Wow," Sumire remarked, absolutely stunned at all the food before her. She definitely was not used to eating so much food, and her many past experiences of poverty had taught her never to expect it. "Thank you so much," she exclaimed as she hugged Wasabi and Namida again.

"No need to thank us," Wasabi told her. "It's your birthday after all, and we want you to enjoy it as much as possible! Now, let's dig in!" Wasabi brought out the chopsticks, and Sumire got up to get three plates and three glasses of ice-cold water.

As the three of them were enjoying the scrumptious meal, Sumire was trying to think of a topic to talk about, other than their growing relationship, when suddenly she remembered that only the day before, her two teammates had requested a meeting with the Hokage. "So… how did the meeting with Lord Seventh go? What did you three discuss?"

Wasabi and Namida looked at each other, then nodded. "We talked about the situation in Shimo," Wasabi sadly told her.

"It was one of the main reasons that the attacks took place," Namida further explained. "At least, that's what our foe, Delta, told us was her primary motivation for joining Kara in the first place. A lot of injustice, discrimination, and inequality still exist in the world, yet truthfully, not much is being done by anyone to remedy it. They think that a revolution would change these things, and maybe improve them."

"True," Sumire sighed in deep thought. "While I don't agree with their goal of revolution, they are correct in saying that there is still much work left to be done with regards to solving these problems. That's why we, and the rest of our generation, need to band and work together for improvement and progress to happen." Wasabi and Namida nodded in agreement to how their friend and team leader was examining the situation. "It is our responsibility to leave our world a better place for our children and their children, better than how our parents and grandparents left this world to us."

Wasabi flashed back to Kotaro's ultimate sacrifice. "Kotaro, and many others who gave their lives defending Konoha, left it to us to protect and improve Konoha, our home, and the rest of our world."

Namida mused, "I do think that our generation can, and will, make things better. After all, we have Sarada; she'll surely be our Ninth Hokage."

"Agreed," Sumire replied as she sipped her iced tea. "And I'll do my best to help her when she does become Hokage, and to help science, technology, and society progress."

Wasabi looked at the clock and leaned her head on Namida's shoulder. "It's almost 2 pm," she whispered in her ear.

Namida looked at her and quickly, sweetly kissed her forehead. "Oh, before anything else," Namida remembered as she brought out a gift-wrapped box. "Your birthday gift from me!"

Namida gave Sumire the box, and Sumire opened it to find a brand new, stylish set of clothes, all of them colored various shades of violet, obviously Sumire's favorite color. "There are three shirts in that," Namida continued as Wasabi rummaged through her own backpack. "And three shorts. I knew that you didn't have many clothes to choose from on a daily basis, so I figured that I'd buy you new ones. They're very practical, stylish, and comfortable as well, so you could wear those on both normal days and on missions."

"They're wonderful!" Sumire replied with enthusiasm.

When Sumire put the new clothes aside, Wasabi pulled out her own gift in the form of a package. "Here's my gift," she told Sumire while handing it to her.

Sumire opened the package to find a pair of shiny, silver-looking gauntlets adorned with curvy yellow and purple markings, and a glowing, purplish orb near the backhand. Sumire's mouth went agape in shock. "Are these Mythril Gauntlets?"

"You bet," Wasabi proudly said. "I had them made specifically for you a couple weeks ago. The pair is an exact replica of the gauntlets your favorite character in your favorite game uses, down to the most minor details."

"Sophie Lhant!" Sumire was now examining the gauntlets in awe. "It's really light as well, much lighter than how it looks. Just like the Mythril Gauntlets in the game!"

Wasabi chuckled. "It's made of an alloy of aluminum, iron, and chromium. That's why it's light and durable at the same time. And the dye used to design it won't scrape off, nor will it dissolve in water or anything."

As Sumire tried on the gauntlets, she took several light swings and practiced her taijutsu with it. "Is it hard enough to absorb impacts? Can I actually use this in fights?" Wasabi nodded and grinned, as she and Namida got up with their backpacks.

"Sumire," Wasabi asked, "can we… you know, rest up… in your room for a while? Like usual? The party's not starting for another hour, right?"

Sumire looked at her two friends, who were fidgeting and stealing lust-filled looks from each other. She already knew what the two of them would be up to. "Of course you two can," she replied in a slightly teasing voice. "I always allow you guys anyway. Just remember not to mess my room and bed up too much, alright?" Sumire asked politely as she winked knowingly at them. "Clean and fix up after yourselves."

Namida added, "If the others arrive early, can you not tell them that we're already here?"

"I definitely won't," Sumire reassured her with a smirk on her face, "But you two shouldn't be too loud either, because they'll figure out what you two are doing in my room… And Namida, please don't use your sonic scream. You'll shatter my windows and our eardrums, especially poor Wasabi's."

Namida stuck her tongue out at Sumire before Wasabi pulled her into Sumire's room and shut the door behind her, followed by another dull thud on the door caused by Wasabi pushing Namida against it with force. Sumire smiled and giggled as she picked up the plates and glasses from the table and dropped them off at the sink, all the while hearing the horny, thirsty moans coming from her bedroom.

To mask the incriminating sounds from her bedroom, Sumire used her phone to play some loud music, which ranged from upbeat rock to dramatic game tunes to smooth classical, in the living room. Meanwhile, she fixed the table up once again. She packed the remaining food and transferred it from the bento boxes Wasabi had brought to resealable containers, which she then placed in her refrigerator.

Before she could return to clean the used dishes, the doorbell rang. Sumire looked at her phone, which displayed 2:17 pm. "Maybe Sarada and the others are early," she speculated just as her phone vibrated with a message from Sarada, which all but confirmed her guess.

_Sumire, we're outside your door =D  
__PAGER: Guests and deliveries for Sumire Kakei, of Room 707 of Tranquil Apartments hahaha loljoke XD  
__PS: My dad is here as well, as well as Inojin's dad, so Wasabi and Namida better be behaving inside there =P_

Sumire raised her eyebrow and rolled her eyes jokingly at Sarada's message. "Alright Sarada," she shouted, "I'll be there in a second." She stood up and walked to the door, which she hurriedly unlocked and opened. She saw Sarada, her father Sasuke, Mitsuki who was now thankfully back in his normal clothes, Inojin and Himawari, who were accompanied by Sai, and Chocho, who carried a huge paper bag filled with what looked to be a lot of potato chips and corn chips.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUMIRE! SWEET SIXTEEN!"

"Welcome to my apartment guys!" Sumire exclaimed. "Mitsuki, I'm glad to see you're fine now," she added as she let Inojin, Himawari, and Mitsuki enter her apartment.

"Chocho," Sumire turned to her chubby friend, "I heard what happened to your father… How is he doing?"

"He's recovering," Chocho replied. "There are a few complications, mostly centering around the damage the bullets did to him, but other than that, he's still in the hospital and just needs a bit more time for bed rest."

"That's good to hear. I hope he fully recovers soon." The three close girls were about to enter the apartment. However, just as Chocho entered, Sasuke put his hand on Sumire's shoulder, stopping her from going with her, and Sai pulled the door closed before them. As Sarada remained beside her, Sumire looked at Sasuke, an uncomfortable feeling starting to well up inside her and making her tense up. Sasuke noticed this slight change in the normally composed girl, and an idea popped into his head as to why.

"Do you hate me?"

Sumire was caught off guard at the question Sasuke asked, and looked at Sarada, who also was confused and looking at her father with curiosity.

"Dad," Sarada asked as she tugged on his cloak, "why are you asking that? Why would she hate you?"

"Maybe hate is too strong of a word," Sasuke corrected himself. "Are you uncomfortable being around me?" Sumire remained mind-boggled as to why he was asking her this.

Sumire, now worried about what was happening, clenched her hands close to chest. "Um… not really? I certainly don't hate you; that's for sure. I actually idolize both you and Lord Seventh."

"Dad!" Sarada objected, putting her hands on her hips. "What is this about? You're making Sumire uncomfortable with how you're acting."

"Sasuke," Sai sternly asked, "do you really want to do this right now? It's her birthday after all." Sasuke waved him off.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke further pressed on. "I was the one who killed Danzo, the man your father idolized. With his death, the organization Root crumbled and collapsed, and most of its members persecuted, even lynched by this village. Your family fled out of Konoha and went into hiding, eventually settling in Kusa. Your father became hell-bent on revenge and became filled with anger and hatred for Konoha, and in depression and sickness, your mother died in exile there, never to be acknowledged once more by Konoha. Your father lost what remained of his sanity, and he moved you to Ame, he experimented on creating and formulizing Nue, all the while subjecting you to harsh training and conditions that nobody should ever be subjected to, so that you could be a heartless, emotionless soldier, obedient only to him. A few years passed, and you and your father secretly moved back into Konoha, where he built your old home and his base of operations. In desperation to fulfill his life's wishes of avenging Danzo and the Root, he passed Nue onto you, killing himself in the process, in the hopes that you would destroy Konoha, along with Nue and yourself, when the time came. And you very nearly succeeded."

Sarada stared at her father, and then back at Sumire. On one hand, she couldn't believe her father was trying to interrogate Sumire, and on her birthday at that. On the other hand, she was also listening intently, trying to discover more of Sumire's history, which she had only heard a fraction of in the past.

"But the key word," Sai exasperatedly interrupted as he tried to deescalate the tension, "is nearly. Your father had tried to train you and strip you of the ability to form real connections, relationships, and feel emotions, but by the looks of it, he failed. Also, when I investigated your old home, I found your father's skeleton, along with all the research he had compiled through the years. After the Nue attack, Lord Hokage gave the research to Sasuke, who then used it to further his research on alternate dimensions, the Otsusuki threat, and the ability to "harvest" or absorb chakra, which both you and Nue have. That research helped us a great deal when Momoshiki attacked and kidnapped Lord Hokage. Thanks to your old Gozu Tennou and your father's research, Sasuke had managed to figure out how to locate Lord Hokage, and travel through different dimensions using his Rinnegan."

Sasuke nodded again, putting both of his hands up to signify that he came in peace. "By what I got out of my student Boruto, he was the one who stopped you from pushing through the final stage of your plan. Please relax, Sumire. My purpose is not to interrogate you, or to make you feel unwanted and suspected. I simply ask if you feel that I am in any way responsible for your family's downfall and what happened in your life when you were younger. If you do, then I sincerely apologize." Upon saying that, he held out his hand towards her and offered a sincere handshake.

Sumire smiled at him, shook his hand, and sighed a breath of relief. "I promise, I don't hate you for that," she told him. "Nor do I hold you responsible over the downfall of my family. That blames goes partly to the citizens of Konoha back then, but mostly on my father. My father made his choices, and through his choices he showed his true character. He was an evil man, and I hate him with all my heart. I will never forgive him for all the things he did to me, and now that I'm here, I could say with all certainty that he is the last thing I want to be like. I'd much rather be like you, Aunt Sakura, Lord Seventh, Sarada-chan, and Boruto-kun."

"But Sumire," Sai suggested, "maybe forgiving and forgetting would be easier on you? I'm sure you know that bottling up your negative feelings, or simply burying them, isn't healthy at all. You wouldn't have to bear the burden of Tanuki's rage inside you."

Sarada added, trying to assure her. "At least, you don't have to bear it all by yourself. We're all here to help you through this."

"But I don't want to forget," Sumire responded. "I am who I am because of the things I experienced in the past, both the good and the bad. Aside from that, I don't have it in me to forgive my father. At least, not yet." Sai and Sasuke listened to her view, and as they were content with her answers, they dropped the topic entirely.

Sasuke came clean to Sumire. "I came here to thank you for aiding and saving my daughter a few nights ago. You and Nue were both quite a large help in the defense of Konoha as well, and I would like to convey both my thanks and the appreciation of the Hokage as well." Upon hearing its name being mentioned, Nue ran outside and rubbed itself on Sasuke's black cloak. "Oh and by the way, Naruto greets you a Happy Birthday."

Sumire stared at Sasuke in awe. _'Thanks and greetings from Lord Seventh himself,' she thought to herself, 'and from the Kage-In-The-Shadows as well?' _Sumire panicked since she had absolutely no idea how to reply, her arms waving off and covering her face. "Hawawawawa, no need to thank me at all!" She looked at Sarada, who smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm so sorry, I just got flustered. Like, how am I supposed to reply to this?"

"No reply needed," Sasuke stated as he turned his attention to the window of Sumire's bedroom, which was right beside the door. "I'm sensing something going on in your there."

"That's probably Namida and Wasabi just having fun," Sumire allayed his fears, trying not to give the secret away. "It's nothing bad or anything, I promise. I'll return Sarada in one piece by the end of the night."

Sasuke looked at her, then Sarada, with an initially suspicious look that gradually turned into one of open acceptance. "Oh yes, Sarada and my wife Sakura want to invite you girls to another sleepover at our place, soon if possible. They have yet to decide the date and time, so I'm just giving you a heads up. In any case, you're welcome to go to our house anytime."

"Dad," Sarada retorted, "that was supposed to be a secret! At least until later tonight." Her father smiled and poked her on the forehead, diffusing the tension, if ever there was actually any in the first place.

"Anyway," Sasuke said as he turned to leave, "stay safe and enjoy the party." With that, Sasuke walked down the staircase and out of sight.

"Before we go inside," Sarada told Sumire, "I'll give you my gift now." She pulled out a small white box, and gave it to Sumire, who opened it and found a pair of intertwined necklaces, one of yin and one of yang. "It's a friendship necklace," Sarada explained as she took the yin piece and gave it to Sumire, who tied it on her neck. Afterwards, Sarada grabbed the yang part and tied it around her own neck.

"It's a symbol of our friendship, that no matter how busy or how far apart we are, we'll still be best friends."

In response, Sumire hugged Sarada tightly. "You know, I forgot to tell your dad that just as much as I saved you four nights ago, you also saved me from going back down a darker path. Thank you so much for that, and for this gift, Sarada. And so we won't forget, when and where will our next tea date be? How about TeaSome?"

Sarada snickered as she turned to enter the apartment. Nue ran in just as she opened the door. "We'll need to wait for the repairs to our beloved tea place TeaSome, but as soon as they're up and running again, and as soon as the city is safe, we'll hang out there. In the meantime, how about the dumpling restaurant that we also eat at often? It wasn't badly damaged, and I've been craving the food there for a while now."

"I'll hold you to that then," replied Sumire as the two of them joined up with their friends at the living room. "And sure, we could eat there too. I miss those dumplings, actually." There they found Chocho munching away at the snacks that Sumire had prepared on the table, Inojin and Himawari leaning on each other, and Mitsuki following the two of them with his eyes. As Sumire and Sarada sat down on the same couch, Inojin and Himawari both approached Sumire.

"Here's our gifts for you," both of them said in unison. Inojin gave Sumire a palette of high-quality watercolor paint, while Himawari gave her a set of fine paintbrushes.

"Oh my," Sumire remarked as she put them aside, "I guess I'll have another pastime to try out now. I'm not that good of an artist yet, but I'm sure I'll improve the more I practice and paint. Thanks you two!"

"There's something easier that you can do, something that doesn't involve too much effort to improve, yet still is so fulfilling to accomplish," Chocho interrupted while standing up from her chair and holding her huge bag of chips. "And that thing is… eating!" Chocho added proudly as she threw a huge paper bag filled to the brim with bags of chips into the air and in Sumire's direction.

"Whaaa-" The unexpectedly heavy bag landed on Sumire, sending her to the floor, with some of the packs of potato chips falling out of the bag and to the carpet below. Inojin audibly smacked his own face with his palm, and Sarada glared a look of disappointment at Chocho. Once again, Sumire was left speechless.

"Umm, thanks I guess?" Sumire looked at the snacks and scanned the nutrition stats. "Though I wouldn't eat too much of these in one day, because that's really unhealthy. How many do you eat in a day?"

"It depends, but most days I eat three of them. Some days, if I feel extremely hungry, I can eat five."

Silence reigned over them for a bit, as no one could fathom how and why someone could eat that much junk food on a daily basis. Inojin and Himawari sighed, and Chocho tried to defend herself by describing how full of energy and beauty she is on a daily basis because of these chips. Desperate for a way out of this discussion, Sarada realized that Mitsuki had not yet given Sumire his gift for her yet.

"Mitsuki!" Sarada exasperatedly asked him, "how about you give Sumire your gift now?"

Mitsuki looked at her and nodded excitedly. "I have the perfect gift for you. Very practical, and you can use it anytime."

"Wow," Chocho sarcastically replied as she crossed her arms. "Someone here's confident."

"Sarada," Sumire asked with a hint of worry in her voice, "do you know what he's giving me?"

Sarada shook her head, but reassured Sumire. "After we picked him up from the hospital before coming here, Mitsuki had asked if he could go off on his own in the shopping mall for five minutes to buy you your gift. Once he came back with the gift, he was pretty excited, so I'm pretty sure it's something special."

Mitsuki now stood in front of Sumire, smiling and holding a shopping bag in his hands. "Happy Womb Emancipation Day, Sumire!"

"Womb… Emancipation… Day?" It took a while for Sumire to realize that this was his own special birthday greeting. "Oh, thanks Mitsuki!"

Out of his plastic shopping bag, he pulled out pairs of purple bras and panties and dropped them on Sumire's lap. "I told you," Mitsuki told her with his signature grin, "you could use them anytime."

With her eyes and mouth opened wide, Sumire stared at the lingerie that was plopped onto her lap. Sarada cursed and apologized to her for Mitsuki's lack of knowledge and practice when it came to social norms and etiquette. On the other hand, Inojin, Chocho, and Himawari simply burst into uncontrollable fits of hysterical laughter, with Chocho rolling onto the floor and bumping into the table legs, nearly breaking them and toppling over the table in the process, but the table stayed upright.

"Well Mitsuki," Chocho quipped in between gasps and laughs, "you were definitely right about it being practical."

"Mitsuki," Sarada glared, "this is not funny."

"But it is!" Chocho insisted. "Sarada, you should lighten up a bit and have Mitsuki's sense of humor."

Puzzled, Mitsuki tilted his head in confusion over both of their comments. "I didn't intend for it to be funny. This is no joke. I really think this is the best gift." Sarada saw the sincerity in his eyes, and gave up trying to make a point, putting her face in her hands and shaking her head at the same time.

"It's… great… in its own way," Sumire muttered as she put it in beside her, along with the bag of chips and the painting materials.

"Just so I know I got the right size for you," Mitsuki quickly added, "I'd like to see you try it on."

Instantly, Sumire froze, and then covered her face with the pillow beside her. "Hawawawa! That is really… so inappropriate!"

Sarada let out a deep sigh followed by another curse, while the others continued to laugh uncontrollably. "One of these days," Sarada stated to Mitsuki as she grabbed the collar of shirt in rage, "I will have to teach you all the social norms I know…"

The music Sumire had played finally ended, and just as Sumire and Sarada were picking another playlist of songs to use, the group heard somewhat suppressed whimpers and moans of equal parts pleasure and pain from Sumire's locked room.

_"__Ngghh… Keep licking meee… ughhh Wasabi, pleeease… Wasabi, finish m-AHH OWEEEeee… stop biting me… I'm bleeding… No, keep going faster…"_

Simultaneously, everyone in Sumire's living room giggled as silently as they could, hoping not to interrupt and ruin the moment. They knew exactly what was going on.

Well, everyone except Mitsuki, who actually walked up to the room to open the door. "Are they in need of assistance?"

Fortunately, Sarada was able to catch his arm before it even touched the handle. "Don't. You. Fucking. Dare."

While Sarada dragged him back to the couch, Inojin comically quipped, "Talk about social norms."

"Sumire," Chocho whispered, "you didn't tell us that the two of them were already here. And why are they doing… it… in your room?"

Sumire inhaled deeply, her blush somewhat ebbing away, "Namida asked me not to tell you guys. And I allow them to have fun in my room, so long as they fix up after themselves. And they always do so, so I trust them to keep their end of the bargain."

As Sumire finished her sentence, Sarada picked another set of songs and started playing on the mini-speaker on the table. However, just as that started, a sharp, ringing, barely-noticeable squeal burst through the room. Sumire knew that Namida had reached her peak, as she had heard it before, but as she looked around her, only Sarada and Mitsuki seemed to have actually heard and understood it with her.

Sarada turned to Sumire. "So this isn't their first time doing it in your room?" Smiling sheepishly, Sumire shook her head.

"They come around here to my apartment a lot so the two of them can have some quality private time," Sumire explained further. "Namida's parents won't ever accept their daughter's relationship with Wasabi, or any other girl for that matter. On the other hand, Wasabi's parents are completely fine with it, and they both love Namida. They've accepted her into their family. It's just that they don't exactly want their eardrums to burst." Sarada could only chuckle in reply, as the doorbell rang twice.

"That must be my brother and the others now," Himawari said as she stood up to open the door_. "HAPPY… oh sorry about that,"_ the latecomers apologized to Himawari as they entered the apartment. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Thanks for coming guys!" Sumire greeted them back. The newly arrived group consisted of Boruto, Denki, Iwabe, Metal Lee, Ryogi, Yodo, and Shikadai, who was still on crutches due to the severe burns on his legs. They lined up to give Sumire her gifts, to make up for them being a bit late to the party. Metal Lee rushed up to her, silently and respectfully offering her a small black box, which she opened to see a pair of customized purple kunai. "I thought this would suit you well," he reasoned as he smiled and got out of the way. Sumire nodded while thanking him, and put his gift aside.

Denki came up behind him and handed Sumire a projector of sorts with the Kaminarimon logo on its front. "I remembered how you loved the night sky at my fishing resort a few years ago, so I got this from our very own planetarium. Turn it on at night, and you'll see every single star and planet mapped out on your own ceiling. I hope you'll love it."

"Thank you so much! And you're absolutely right! I love stargazing. I'd say that it's one of the main hobbies of Team 15."

After Denki, Iwabe approached Sumire. "I honestly don't know if you cook," he told her, "but if ever you wanted to try cooking, here's something that will help you a lot." As he said this, he gave Sumire a new, thick, colorful cookbook. Sumire grinned as she set it beside her along with the many other gifts she had received, promising that she would try out some of the recipes in the future.

Yodo stood next in line, holding a simple box with headphones inside. "Here you go," she smiled as she gave the headphones to Sumire. "It's a good brand, so I hope you're able to use it a lot." She then went back to support Shikadai and help him walk up to her.

"I heard from Wasabi and Namida that you're actually somewhat of a gamer," Shikadai informed her as Yodo and Ryogi stood by his side. "So here's one of my old gaming consoles that I used to play with often. Now that there are so many new consoles, I haven't been able to use this one often, so I think it'll be better off with you." He dropped the large, black, square-shaped gaming console as he tried to hand it over to Sumire, but luckily she caught it before it fell on the floor.

"And here's a game that we heard you'll love," Ryogi added as he added her a disk compatible with the console that Shikadai had just given her. "The one with the Linear Motion Battle System, right? Somewhat strategic, dramatic, action-packed, and with a great storyline as well, if I heard correctly." Sumire smiled as she nodded and gently put the console, disk, and headphones beside her on the seat. As Yodo and Ryogi helped Shikadai sit down on an empty couch, there was only one person left standing in front of Sumire.

"Hey Sumire…" Boruto started. However, before Boruto could go further, more sounds emanated from Sumire's room, sounds that were loud enough to echo throughout the living room. The group heard partially hushed voices through the walls, punctuated by deep breaths and moans.

_"__NGGGH… Nami…? Why did you stop?"_

_"…__I want to try something… Is that okay with you?"_

_"…__Yeah, I trust you… go ahead…"_

_"__Just relax, my love… Here it goes… Sound Style: Mild Vibration…"_

_"…__Namid-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

The startling cry broke the relative silence, and was followed by increasingly louder moans and a final, oscillating, guttural groan from Wasabi as everyone in the living room gradually absorbed what they had just heard.

"Geeeeez," Yodo commented, "they're louder than we are." Everyone else burst into laughter, save for Shikadai who put his hands to his face in utter embarrassment.

"Of all the things that could have been said," Shikadai asked, "why did you have to say that?" An apologetic Yodo kissed him on the cheek.

"Anyway," Boruto continued as he pulled out a somewhat cylindrical object and placed it in Sumire's hand. She immediately recognized it to be a chakra sabre, one that she had seen being handmade some months ago. But this one seemed more refined, sleeker, and more robust than the ones she had seen in the lab. In fact, this one had a fancy, curved hilt.

"I bought this chakra sabre about two weeks ago. It's the newest off the line. The color of the blade depends on the person and the person's specific aura, and it's much more chakra-efficient than the earlier models you tried on me years ago, so you won't faint immediately once you activate it. How about you try it out?"

Sumire stood up, holding the curved hilt of her new sabre, and walked away from anything and anyone she could slash open, and ignited the chakra blade. A deep violet glow emitted from the shining blade, and she swung it around carefully, a buzzing sound following its every motion. "This is so cool, Boruto-kun," she acknowledged as she turned off the blade. "I really would like to practice my sword skills later, if ever I have the time to."

"I brought myself a new sabre as well, just in case you said that," Boruto replied. "We could spar later, if we ever have the time."

"You know what, I should test out my chakra saber as well," Sarada added. "Katasuke gave me one as a gift for my birthday last March, but my chakra's not yet able to sustain the blade for too long. Because of that, my mother has some fears about me using it, so I can't use it too much or else she'll scold me. My dad isn't exactly a big fan of it either."

"He'll turn around on it," Boruto assured her. "I'll spar with him one time using it. It's fun once you get used to the adrenaline rush once your chakra starts running low."

Just then, the door to Sumire's room opened, and Wasabi and Namida walked out shoulder to shoulder, with frizzled, messy, sweat-gleaming hair and new clothes. Immediately, the two of them notice everyone else in the room staring at them with goofy smiles that looked like they were about to burst into full on laughter at any point. Namida averted her eyes in mortification, while Wasabi simply got mad. "What are you guys looking at?"

* * *

_**How did you like this chapter? Wasabi and Namida, Sasuke and Sumire, Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Chocho, and everyone else? What about their gifts to Sumire? When will Naruto go to the party to check up on Sumire? ;)**_

**_Also, Mitsuki saying "Happy Womb Emancipation Day" in place of "Happy Birthday" comes from Benteja's idea! Shoutout to Benteja XD =D_**

_**Enjoy the peace while you can, because in Chapter 13: Revelations, there's going to be some violence and drama on Sumire's birthday, while in Chapter 14: Internal Strife, even more violence and political intrigue will lead to major shifts from the status quo... maybe even a Fifth Great Ninja War... *gasp* =O**_

_**Feel free to leave comments down below! ^_^**_

_**Trivia of the Week: Yes, Wasabi and Namida did it in Sumire's place. Find it unbelievable? Well, remember what I told you guys before? That I base my writing on personal experiences, to make my stories somewhat realistic? Well, when I was in Ateneo High School, I had two classmates who were madly and deeply in love with each other. But because they were both boys, some of their parents disapproved. So, they often had secret dates/did it (you know what I mean :P) in other classmates' houses, mine being one of them. We were all okay with it, just as long as they cleaned up after themselves (like Wasabi and Namida over at Sumire's place, HAHAHA XD). They were just so cute together, and though I haven't been able to keep in touch with the two of them, I hope that they're still together, even in college. They're best fit with each other awwwweeee ^_^ XD**_

_**PS: R.A. and J.D.G. (you two know who you are), if you two ever see/read this note... Hello again, long time no see, and I wish you two nothing but utter happiness ^_^**_


	13. Revelations

_**Hello guys! Welcome back to A Tale of Grace! I have brought another chapter for you faithful readers to enjoy! Hooray! ^_^**_

_**Well, I'm sure this is going to get a lot of responses. This is the longest chapter so far, at 10024 words, and it is dramatic for sure. Warnings for self-hate and depression could apply =O ='(**_

_**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And make sure to leave comments! They always help, and I always make an effort to reply anyway, so if you have any questions, I will make sure to answer =D**_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Revelations**

Naruto looked out of the window of his newly refurbished office, paying close attention to the rebuilding of Konoha. Even as of the moment, there were still some off-limits areas due to the remaining pockets of the potent, yellow poison gas that simply refused to diffuse away. Throughout the Land of Fire, there were important commercial, economic, industrial, and residential areas that needed extensive repairs, if not complete rebuilds, yet their resources were stretched paper-thin due to the severity of attacks everywhere else and the chaos that followed, resulting in a lack of trade and readily available resources. However, while many other places were struggling with their limited resources, at least Konoha was being rebuilt much faster than the expectations and forecasts Shikamaru had given him, due to the citizens of Konoha working overtime, throughout the days and the nights, to contribute to the rebuilding process.

Sighing in fatigue that had accumulated over the past few days, he turned around and looked at his new wooden desk, which would usually have a stack of papers on it. However, at the center of his desk lay a lone three-page report, which had been given to him the day before by both Wasabi and Namida. His mind flashed back to yesterday.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Naruto had just finished directing the focus of the repairs, as well as helping organize his newly repaired office and building, and had just finished communicating with Gaara, Chojuro, Kurotsuchi, Darui, and the others that were invited to the Shinobi Union emergency meeting, which was scheduled for tomorrow. As he was about to sit down and eat, he remembered to put the calendar, which was currently laid out on his table, beside the door for easy reference.

However, as he did so, Shikamaru quickly opened the door wide while carrying freshly made ramen, and in doing so accidentally hit Naruto and squished him between the wall and the door. "Oww… that hurt…"

"Ohh sorry Naruto, I didn't know you were there," Shikamaru apologized as Naruto shook himself off. The two of them laughed it off and went to the table to eat their ramen.

"The reconstruction's going quite well," Shikamaru pointed out after sipping the soup. "We're a bit ahead of schedule, but we'll need more resources to keep up this pace we've set."

Naruto nodded and packed a bunch of noodles into his mouth all at once. "But Kara is still causing much trouble, and a lot of the main roads and other cities aren't yet safe enough to trade with."

"That's true, and that's why we set the emergency conference tomorrow. Hopefully, many can go so all the nations will be adequately represented, and the symbol of unity maintained. Other than that, we need to address the issues of economy, trade, mutual defense, rebuilding, and aid, and we need to address those issues together as one body."

"I'm glad you were able to organize it at such short notice…" Before Naruto could go any further, the door swung open once again, and Hanabi's face peeked from the open door.

"I'm sorry Naruto," Hanabi apologized as she announced her presence to them. "Are you busy?"

"Hanabi!" Naruto exclaimed. "Long time no see! How are you and old man Hiashi doing?"

"We're doing fine, thanks. Our house is only slightly damaged, and only a part of the wall was destroyed. Anyway, I ask that you allow my students, Wasabi and Namida, to have a short meeting with you. They say that it is an urgent matter."

"Oh…" Naruto replied, soberly remembering what Boruto and Sarada had told him the day before, the incident where Namida nearly got raped by one of Kara's attackers. "Are they there behind you?" Hanabi nodded, and so Naruto looked at Shikamaru for any advice schedule-wise.

"You have at least 20 minutes before you're scheduled to go out and help Konoha again along with Kaminarimon. I can probably make it 30 minutes by informing the company."

"That settles it then," Naruto quickly gave Hanabi his answer. "Let them in." Hanabi entered, with Wasabi and Namida in tow behind her.

"Thank you for letting us have this meeting with you, Lord Seventh," Namida graciously said.

"No," Naruto replied, "I cannot thank both of you enough for assisting in the defense of our city during the attacks. You both put your lives on the line, on more than one occasion."

Shikamaru added, "I heard what you two did from the surviving police force, how you two bravely held the line in the western theatre of the fighting. Without you, we would have been pincered and surrounded, and Konoha may have indeed fallen that night."

"And aside from that," Naruto put his hands together as he looked worriedly at Namida, "my son Boruto and my protégé Sarada both told me what nearly happened to you. I'm so sorry to hear that, and if you want to talk to us about it and let the hurt out, you may do so."

Namida looked at Wasabi, who then smiled as she took over. "We really appreciate your very kind words, Lord Seventh. However," Wasabi continued as she brought out some sheets of paper from her cat-shaped bag, "that's not quite the issue we're here for."

She handed the report to Naruto, and Shikamaru looked on and read along as well. Naruto's eyes grew wide upon reading their short report. Slowly, Shikamaru focused back at them as Naruto reread the paper. "How exactly do you two know so much about the Land of Frost?"

"We talked to one of the Kara members who attacked the west side of Konoha," Wasabi informed him. "We had a truce, so she explained her motivations for joining Kara and attacking us, and one of them was the situation in Shimo, since she went underground there for a time. She told us about what she saw and experienced there, all the political killings, the kidnapping and salvaging of those who resisted, the abuses of rights of women and children, not to mention sexual assault and forced slavery, and the silencing of the free press."

"Last night, we also did a lot of deep investigatory research about Shimo and its condition right now," Namida added. "There aren't many articles or documents about the issue, because there's not a lot of attention being paid to it at all, and also because the press is extremely censored there. But we found a couple of articles from reputable sources and trustworthy reporters who ventured into the Land of Frost, where they had to be smuggled in and out, and they provided as much proof as they could, such as pictures, videos, and eyewitness accounts and testimonies."

"Delta also said something about you, Lord Seventh," Wasabi mentioned. "She told us that you already knew about the situation in Shimo, as did the other Great Kages, yet none of you took any action to resolve it."

"That's not true," retorted Shikamaru. "It wasn't because of Lord-"

"Shikamaru," Naruto interrupted him while he waved him off, "it's fine. Wasabi and Namida, thank you both for bringing this back to my attention. This Delta that you speak of, she is the Kara member you two faced off against, I take it?"

The two nodded in response to Naruto's question. "What she told you both is, sadly, all true. I take responsibility for how badly the situation there has spiraled out of control and worsened over the years, yet it's not like I didn't want anything to happen. Are you two familiar with the Kage Council and how it works?"

Namida nodded, while Wasabi thought more about her answer. "A bit, I guess. I remember that it's made up of the Five Great Kage, and that it decides a lot of the important issues concerning the ninja world."

"That's correct Wasabi," Naruto replied to her. "However, for any definitive action to be approved and taken up by the Kage Council, all five Kages need to unanimously agree on it. If not, the plan is vetoed and scrapped. Unfortunately, two of the Great Kages have vetoed our proposal for military intervention, for they seek a peaceful transition of power. Because of that political deadlock, we can't do much as a whole."

Hanabi, who had been observing and listening while trying to help Wasabi and Namida with their case, intervened on their behalf. "But what if you turn to the Shinobi Union? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Shinobi Union needs only a majority of three-fourths to pass any legislature and enact it."

"That's only partly correct," Shikamaru clarified. "The five Great Nations still have veto power even in the Shinobi Union, so even if everyone else votes for action to be taken, nothing can be done unless the minds of those two Great Kage are changed."

"But the additional pressure from the other nations could help change their minds," Naruto pointed out a possible solution. "Thank you for that suggestion, Hanabi. And as it turns out, we'll get the chance to do that tomorrow, since Shikamaru was able to schedule an emergency conference for the Shinobi Union here, and on short notice as well."

"Wasabi and Namida," Naruto continued as he turned his attention to them. "We may have a lot of pressing problems such as Kara, the ongoing offensive, the rebuilding, economy and trade collapsing, and international relations being frayed, but I won't let this problem continue unhindered. We did so long ago, and the issue grew so much worse. So I promise to both of you, I will make time for Shimo and the Land of Frost, and I'll push my hardest for any positive steps and actions to push through."

*******XXXXXXX*******

The three-page report still lay on the table in front of him, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief that the conference were over with, that Shinobi Union remained strong and united, that there was a general military plan to retake the fallen and assist the besieged cities, that he fulfilled his oath to Wasabi and Namida, and that much-needed, long-awaited help was on the way to Shimo and the Land of Frost. But as he was closing his eyes to get a brief mental break, the door opened and Sasuke, Sai, and Shikamaru entered the room. "_Of course there won't be any breaks for me_," Naruto thought to himself, a bit annoyed at the timing of the intrusion, but happy nonetheless that his trusted friends were here by his side.

"The restoration of Konoha is going very well at this point," Shikamaru announced while smirking, since he knew he interrupted Naruto's attempt at giving himself a breather. "A lot of things are going our way for now."

Sai further noted, "With the reopening of the highways between the major cities, trade is now being reestablished and normalized, and we're getting a lot more resources to use, especially for construction and clearing operations. And morale is definitely way higher than before, since the image of a solid, united, determined Shinobi Union is being spread by both word of mouth and online messaging."

Sasuke looked concerned at Naruto, who looked absolutely spent after three days of constant work and leading Konoha back from the brink of destruction, with the obvious signs that he had barely gotten any time to truly rest. "I think you should go home, relax, sleep with Hinata, and spend time with your kids for a long while. You look horrible right now."

"I'll take the next three days off," Naruto replied, "if that's alright with Shikamaru and Sai." The two of them nodded reassuringly.

"We can all take the next week off if we want," Shikamaru told him. "At least there are no more important meetings or occasions scheduled for the next ten days that absolutely require our attendance, so we can spend some time with our families and get some rest and relaxation for a while. And we can be on hand in a moment's notice if anything major happens. I believe we all want that?"

"I'd love some time off for a change," Sai responded. "Ino is still trying to rebuild her flower business and her shop, and I want to help her out."

"Before we think any further of our coming vacations," Sasuke interrupted, "let's finish up our planning for the next few days. Shikamaru, can you tell us how the situation is in Ryutan?"

"According to our scouts, it looks like Kara has dug in pretty deep in the city of Ryutan already," Shikamaru read his reports. "There seems to be a much bigger force now defending Ryutan compared to the forces they sent to other cities. A lot of Kara members are massing there, as if they're making it a home base of operations. They're erecting more defenses as we speak; trenches and barbed wire on the outskirts, concrete bunkers, explosive traps, barriers and barricades, and many other obstacles. They've also taken control of the surrounding municipalities, most of which are farming and freshwater fishing communities, so now they have a somewhat secure supply of money, food, and water."

"They'll probably want to hold on to Ryutan for as long as possible," Sai noted. "They're studying and stealing our technology and weapons, and they're also accessing and manipulating the popular websites, as well as the broadcasting stations based there, to post their propaganda and views to a more widespread audience. They'll fight for every building there if they need be, and when it's all over, Ryutan could be nothing but a ruin."

"We can keep the pressure on them," Naruto affirmed. "But I'm worried more cities will fall to Kara, which means more fortified places for us to recover. That's the last thing I want… and I did promise to Heiyakage Nakamura and the others that I would help them fend off the attacks, so I'd like the bulk of our shinobi to support the other nations first. Then after that is done, we'll refocus our efforts on Ryutan." Shikamaru and Sai nodded and agreed with their Hokage.

"Now, onto the reason I asked to meet with all of you back here," Sasuke declared.

Naruto turned to him. "You said a while ago that this was going to be about Sumire Kakei?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes. I am concerned for her safety and security. Do you remember when Gaara said? 'Anything that drains or sucks out chakra must be banned, and anyone with that ability must not be allowed to live?'"

"Not really," Naruto tried hard to remember. "When did he say that? And do you think he meant Nue and Sumire? I don't think Gaara knows about them, you know?"

"That was just after the Momoshiki attack. And you are correct in that Gaara doesn't yet know about Sumire. Not yet, at least. But I worry that someday in the future, people will find out about her and Nue, and I don't know how everyone will react."

Sai added, "What's worse is how the people of Konoha will react to this. We never did tell them the truth about what happened on that night five or six years ago. We didn't reveal that Sumire and Nue attacked Konoha and almost destroyed, nor did we tell our people that she almost killed them all. They don't know that Nue was designed to be a giant bomb, nor do they know that she's the one who sucked the chakra out of people and left them near death, nor do they know that her father was a prominent member of the Root. The release of these secrets will surely cause an uproar in Konoha and will lead people to shun her, exile her, or maybe even try to kill her, as what happened to her parents and many other members of the Root who were unmasked after Danzo died."

"I remember that you were surprised at how you got off pretty lightly," Naruto recalled. "You were expecting the villagers to kick you out, or even lynch you, but you had Grandma Tsunade, Kakashi-sensei, us, and a lot of other people on your side, so the citizens couldn't really fight them. So if ever Sumire's secrets are revealed, I promise that I'll vouch for her and protect her, just as we vouched for you back then. I will stand up for her, even against Gaara."

"But it will be so much easier," Shikamaru advised Naruto, "if we simply made Sumire, along with Nue, an official state secret. No one outside Konoha's higher ups can know, aside from her friends of course. It would be a massive drag otherwise."

Sasuke concurred. "We have to do everything possible and necessary to keep her real identity, Nue, and their powers and abilities, secret from everyone outside Konoha and even from most of our own people. We must keep the citizens of Konoha unaware."

Sai immediately agreed, and Naruto eventually nodded his head as well. "It's settled then," Shikamaru announced as he jotted down the order on a piece of paper. "Sumire Kakei, formerly Shigaraki, is now a state-protected asset, with the highest levels of privacy, security, safety, and secrecy, afforded to her, as well as her special summon creature, Nue."

"By the way," Sasuke informed Naruto, "I thanked Sumire a while ago while dropping Sarada off at the party."

Naruto's interest was piqued. "Really? How is she doing? I'm supposed to make a house visit to her soon to check on how's she doing, since she's both an orphan and a former threat to our city."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Your old policy regarding orphans?"

"Of course," Naruto replied. "My Orphan Policy. I don't want anyone to experience the loneliness and worthlessness I felt back then, when everyone despised and ostracized me just for having Kurama inside me. So I take it upon myself to visit them constantly, and make them feel special, loved, appreciated, and like a real part of Konoha… the things I didn't get to feel when I was younger…"

Sasuke looked at him and genuinely smiled. "That's a wonderful thing for you to do. Keep doing it."

The door opened again, and this time Hinata entered the room. "Hello guys! I know you are all so tired, so I came by with some fresh ramen for an afternoon snack. I just bought these from Ichiraku's restaurant, and it's still hot, so enjoy!"

"Thank you so much!" They cheered in unison as she placed the five bowls of ramen on the table.

"I love you," Naruto told Hinata as he kissed and hugged her tightly. "Guess what, Shikamaru is FINALLY allowing me to take time off! The entirety of next week!"

"That's wonderful! Finally!" Hinata mirrored her husband's enthusiasm. She then looked at Sai, Shikamaru, and Sasuke. "And I'm guessing you're all taking the week off as well?"

They nodded while eating. Hinata then comically suggested, "How about we all go to the beach?"

Everyone laughed. "I wish we could," Sai replied. "I know Ino would like that."

"Temari would love to go to the beach and enjoy the sun as well. However," Shikamaru burst their bubble, "we have to remain in Konoha for the time being. We need to be on-hand if ever anything else major happens."

"Fine… But after all this is done and dealt with," Naruto ordered, "we go on a real vacation, spend some time on the beach, and actually relax for a while. We can also bring our kids and their friends along too!"

"I know just the place," Sasuke informed the others, with a hint of a gleam in his eyes. "I saw it while I was still on my travels. It has white sands, deep blue waters, and a few nice and cozy buildings for travellers and tourists to stay. And the staff in the place were nice enough too…"

"Okay, okay…" Shikamaru laughed, relented, and agreed with Naruto and Sasuke. He pulled out a notepad and a pen from his pocket, and he started writing down the names of who would go on their trip, according to Naruto's suggestion. "So aside from our families and our friends, Teams 5, 7, 10, and 15 will also go. I could give them a weeklong exemption break from missions, so they can all come along with us. That would be around 24 already… Oh, maybe Mirai and her girlfriend Tatsumi could come along with us too! I'm sure they'd love to go to the beach together!"

"Ohh yeah, Mirai has a girlfriend!" Hinata asked Shikamaru. "I've forgotten since Temari told me quite a long time ago… How long have Mirai and Tatsumi been together?"

"Let's see… They met in the Land of Hot Springs like 3 years ago, if I recall correctly. They quickly became close once Mirai saved her from a crazed follower of Jashin… Ahh yes, they became an item almost a year ago. Maybe we can even schedule this trip for their anniversary on July 27…"

Suddenly, Hinata's phone buzzed, and so she took it out from her pocket. In the meantime, Sasuke continued to describe to the others the pristine beach he had seen some years ago. After a gap of several seconds, the phones of Sai and Shikamaru near-simultaneously vibrated as well, and they both glanced at their phones while eating.

Hinata's eyes grew wide and her body froze as she read the long message in her group chat with Sakura, Ino, Temari, Karui, and Tenten. She eyed Sai and Shikamaru, who were both visibly growing perturbed at what they were reading on their phones. "Did you guys get the same message?" The two looked up at Hinata and saw her worried face, knew what she was talking about, and nodded.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at them, and they too grew increasingly uneasy. "What did you guys see?" Naruto asked.

"Our plan has already been undone," Shikamaru replied to Naruto. "The secret is out already, somehow."

Hinata read the article that was sent to her. "This is what the article says. _'Sumire Shigaraki, who uses a false name of Sumire Kakei, is being hailed as a hero of Konoha by the Lord Hokage himself for helping defend it against the Kara attacks a few days ago. However, what not many people know is that she tried, and almost succeeded, in destroying Konoha and killing off its people. She is the mysterious culprit known as Ghost who attacked Konoha years ago, and she is the carrier and enabler of the vile, demonic, destructive beast known as Nue. She is additionally the sole heiress of the Shigaraki family, which was an integral cog in the Root organization led by Danzo Shimura. She is a traitorous, treasonous, and dangerous threat to all of the Land of Fire, and beyond.'_" Hinata paused and shook her head, sighing, "No… This is just wrong… Who did this?"

Shikamaru continued reading the article after Hinata stopped. _"Sumire and Nue were both created by her father, Tanuki Shigaraki, to destroy Konoha. Tanuki Shigaraki was the most prominent, high-ranking member of the organization Root left after the death of Danzo and the disbanding of the Root…"_ He then skipped over part of the article, before continuing, _"Nue completely drains chakra from people, leading to death or serious injury with permanent lingering disabilities. It stores that chakra inside itself so that it can trigger a huge explosion, one massive enough to engulf the whole city of Konoha in a fiery death… As a person, Sumire still maintains her belief in the ways of the Root, and her heroic act in defending Konoha from Kara is merely a front to distract people from her real goal, which is to fulfill her father's mission for her: To avenge him and the Root by causing Konoha's complete and utter annihilation."_

"Oh shit!" Sai gasped. "I've been checking the Internet servers for Konoha. So many people are reading this article, and it's being shared around like wildfire. It's become what people now refer to as viral…"

Sasuke sighed in disappointment, while Naruto buried his face in his hands and groaned. "There goes our plan for total secrecy. Does it say anything else? I did notice that a lot of those details it mentioned were fake or exaggerated."

"Don't worry," Naruto affirmed his faith in Sumire. "As I promised, I will protect her from any backlash, whether it be from within Konoha or outside of it. But can anyone determine who wrote this? How could anyone outside from us and her friends know?"

"It doesn't say," Sai replied. "It doesn't have an author attached to it. Anonymous article."

_"__In short," _Hinata skipped to the last part of the article, her voice quivering, _"to prevent the destruction of Konoha, she must be disposed of. She is a living time bomb, and we must defuse and eliminate the threat before it inevitably tries to destroy us once more. To every proud and patriotic citizen of Konoha, I say this: We must kill Sumire Shigaraki, an Enemy of the State. She still resides in Room 707 of Tranquil Apartments…"_

Hinata paused again in reading, this time her mouth going agape upon reading that last phrase. "WAIT! That's where Sumire lives! Boruto and the others are there right now!"

Horrified, Naruto and Sasuke immediately stood up and rushed outside. They sprinted on the sprawling rooftops of Konoha to Sumire's apartment, with Sai, Shikamaru, and Hinata following right behind them.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"And there I was," Denki elaborated. He was telling his friends about what he had experienced during the night of the Battle of Konoha, after they had walked left Thunder Burger restaurant. "Looking up at the huge blazing hole on the side of my father's building, I rushed up the stairs along with the employees that were still there. We battled the inferno until we finally put it out hours after, then we removed all the metal debris of the comms tower that fell into it by sweeping it off the opened side of the building. All of a sudden, these artillery bombs just started raining down from the sky and we ended up having to run down a long way down the staircase to the basement. We kept hearing the building's metal frame stressing and straining, and some shells hit our building low, so we were so afraid that it would collapse on top of us. Thankfully, it didn't fail, and we saved the skyscraper, though we'll still need a whole lot of repairs and renovation before the Kaminarimon Building will return to its full glory."

While Denki was telling his story, there were suddenly some angry and shouting voices heard outside the door of Sumire's apartment. The doorbell was then rung repeatedly, to the point of annoyance to the people inside. As Sumire stood up to open the door, Iwabe commented to Denki's story, "That's amazing. You went up a building that could have fallen down at any moment? You have guts there." He then gave a backhanded compliment as well. "So does facing off against actual enemies…"

"Hey… No need to take anything away from what anyone did," Boruto intervened on Denki's behalf.

Sarada agreed with him. "We all had our own roles to play, and I guess everyone did what they could."

"You're right," Sumire added as she turned back to them. "We're all heroes through the actions we took, and the actions we continue to take." Sumire then unlocked and opened the door, only to find a lot of people crowding outside her door in the hallway. Sumire tilted her head in confusion, as she had no idea who they were or why they were there. She also felt nervous, as she saw some people with what looked like makeshift melee weapons, though she gave them the benefit of the doubt for now. She thought to herself, '_Are they gathering for sort of cosplay convention or historical reenactment? And maybe they got lost on the way?'_

"Yes? May I help you?" Sumire asked them politely. Boruto, Sarada, Wasabi, Namida, and Himawari all noticed the growing commotion outside, and followed Sumire to see what was happening.

The person directly in front of Sumire, a light-skinned, raven-haired man who looked to be in his early thirties, asked her, "Sumire Kakei?"

An outraged shout burst from behind him. "Sumire means violet, dumbass! She's wearing violet clothes, has violet hair, and violet eyes! Are you stupid or something?"

"Hawawa, no need to fight please," Sumire begged. "What is this all about? Yes, I am Sumire Kakei, and-"

The moment she confirmed her name, some people screamed and shrieked, "The heiress of Shigaraki! Traitor and enemy to Konoha!"

Others roared and chanted in anger, "Kill her! Kill her! KILL HER!"

The person who had asked for her name just a second ago now pulled out a knife from his pocket and thrust it forward, trying to downright murder Sumire. She nearly got stabbed right below her right breast, but she caught his wrist in time. She then threw his wrist aside and instinctively shot him with a water bullet using her free hand. The man fell dead, a large hole on the back of his head oozing out the remnants of his brain.

As the man's lifeless body collapsed to the floor, the crowd stepped back in total shock. Sumire, after fully realizing what had happened and what she had done, lifted her hands to her mouth and face, and tried to look away. "Don't be afraid now," a middle-aged man in the thick of the crowd exhorted everyone around him. "Do your duty to Konoha! Kill the bitch!"

"Murderer! Traitor! DIE!" The enraged crowd rallied and pushed forward with their weapons drawn. Boruto, Sarada and the others quickly reacted. Boruto pulled Sumire further inside the apartment, while Sarada, Wasabi, and Himawari blocked the door and desperately pushed back against the charging crowd in the hopes of keeping them at bay. Sumire and Boruto were hit by glass bottles and steel pipes that were thrown over the human barricade that Sarada and the others had made.

"We need help over here!" Sarada begged her other friends as the violent crowd pushed against her. "NOW!" The incensed, angry swarms of people were scratching, clawing, shoving, punching, and kicking at her face and chest, leaving bloody marks and cuts all along her exposed skin, so she started fighting back.

As Boruto dragged Sumire away, Iwabe, Chocho, Inojin, Metal, Denki, and Yodo ran to support the wall plugging the doorway. Wasabi was hit with a swinging pipe to the face, knocking her down from the door and almost allowing people to flood into the apartment, though Iwabe hit them back repeatedly with his earthen hammer-pole and taking her place at the front. Chocho expanded her entire torso just inside the door, and nearly squished her friends in the process, while Mitsuki extended his arms and grabbed the doorframe, essentially both preventing the human wall from collapsing, and the crowd from going inside and further assaulting Sumire.

"Chubby…" Inojin struggled to say as he was squashed, "Please… go back… to normal size… we can't breathe…" Chocho apologized as she shrunk back to normal, and the two opposing sides faced off in a stalemate. The violent mob had stepped back once Chocho expanded, and the group of friends were warily paying attention to them, in case they attacked again.

After making sure Sumire was okay, Boruto walked up to the front of the group, squeezing his way through his friends. "What are you guys doing?" He angrily demanded to know. "Why are you trying to hurt Sumire?"

Sarada added, "Do you people feel no shame? You should be grateful! She helped save you all!"

"Lies! Liars!" The middle-aged man, who seemed to be the spokesperson and leader of the horde of citizens, shouted back at them. "Stop defending a traitor and enemy of Konoha! If you keep protecting her, that means you all are traitors and enemies of Konoha too, and we'll have no qualms with killing all of you."

"What the hell are you people talking about?" Sarada incredulously asked him. "Even the Lord Hokage himself proclaimed her as a hero!"

Inojin snapped at the frenzied crowd. "She helped fend off the attack of Kara just a few nights ago! Have you fuckers already forgotten that? How could she be a traitor?"

The middle-aged man walked right up to Sarada and spat back at her, "Your dear Hokage is WRONG! He was wrong about Kawaki, and he is wrong about Sumire! Once a traitor, always a traitor!"

An angry woman stepped forward and explained things from her point of view. "She's the daughter of Tanuki Shigaraki, an evil man who was part of the abomination, the Root Organization! By her blood alone, she is purely evil! She herself was also a member of the Root! She must be killed to ensure the safety of Konoha!"

"That was years ago!" Boruto retorted angrily. "What you're all saying is complete and utter bullshit!"

"She's not a traitor!" Sarada further screamed to the baying mob, which acted like a pack of hungry wolves in front of her. "From where I stand, by what all of you did to Sumire, a hero of Konoha, you all are traitors to Konoha! So stand down now, or else we'll have you all arrested!"

"NEVER!" The man at the front turned back to the crowd and gave a rousing speech. "Never again will we allow traitorous threats, like the slut Sumire Shigaraki, from living in our city! Never again will we let these monsters live amongst us! And never again will we let our city come to the brink of destruction at the hands of fuckers like her! We have to kill her, and everyone else like her and with her! And since our Hokage is with her, we have to take the future of our city into our own hands! We will forge a better path for Konoha, to make Konoha prosperous and great once again! Kill Sumire Shigaraki! Kill that traitorous bitch!"

The crowd rallied behind him, and with renewed strength and purpose, the mob ended the temporary informal truce. They started pushing their way into the apartment once again, bearing their fury upon the defenders at the door. Sarada had enough of her and her friends being struck by the unruly, bloodthirsty throng. "Susanoo!" she roared, and she summoned her skeletal Susanoo, which surrounded her, Boruto, Iwabe, Himawari, and everyone behind them in a blood red colored protective ribcage of chakra. None of the strikes or projectiles the wild crowd threw at them could penetrate through the shield, although the Susanoo sapped much of Sarada's energy at a fast rate, and she was quickly losing chakra.

A few seconds after her formation of the Susanoo, Nue sprinted up to her and attached a chakra snake to her wrist, which allowed Nue to let the chakra it had stored in itself flow into her. "Thanks Nue," Sarada gladly accepted the extra chakra.

However, some of the rioters now broke the glass window of Sumire's bedroom, which was on the left side of the front door that Boruto and the others defended, and those rioters also threw lit torches and flaming bottles filled with alcohol inside, setting the wooden bedframe, the yellow bed sheets, and the carpeted floor on fire. Sumire rushed inside her bedroom and immediately doused the spreading fire with a deluge of water. She also fired water bullets at several people who tried to enter through the broken window, hitting some of them non-fatally. Shikadai swung his crutches to force the people back out, inadvertently causing some people to be slashed by the glass, and one particularly unfortunate person to crash down neck first into the bottom of the window frame still lined with shards of razor-sharp glass. Ryogi kicked the dead man from the frame, the blood spurting out from his neck, and plugged the window with a wall of solid ice.

"Wasabi," Namida asked as she treated the bleeding gash on her girlfriend's face, "can you lift me up on your shoulders?" Wasabi figured out what she was going to do, and nodded as she wiped the blood from the wound on her cheek. Namida sat on Wasabi's shoulders, and Wasabi stood up, so Namida popped up above everyone else.

"Everyone," Wasabi warned her friends, "cover your ears!" As Sarada, Iwabe, and everyone else except Mitsuki looked back and saw Namida propped up on Wasabi like an electronic speaker, their eyes grew wide and they immediately got down, covering their ears.

"Sound Style: Sparrow's Cry!" Namida let out a deafening colorful shockwave that permeated through Sarada's red Susanoo and blasted everyone out in the hallway down to the floor. Most of the crowd fell down to the floor, their eardrums ringing in agony. Some unfortunate people staggered back, tripped over other people, and fell over the railing, falling seven stories down to the unforgiving concrete below. After more than twenty seconds, the relentless sound wave finally died down, and Namida breathed deeply to get her air back.

"Everyone! Please calm down!" Naruto commanded as he and Sasuke landed on the seventh floor walkway, followed shortly thereafter by Hinata, Sai, and Shikamaru. They walked over the hunched crowd and stood in front of Boruto, Sarada, Iwabe, and Himawari. As soon as Sarada saw her father arriving on the scene, Sarada let her Susanoo disperse and disappear into thin air.

"Boruto!" Hinata knelt and put her hand on her son's face, which had some specks and trails of blood splattered on it. "Are you alright? Did anyone hurt you?"

"Not really Mom," Boruto replied, while laughing and scratching the back of his head. "Just some cuts. Most of this isn't my blood, actually."

"Go back to your homes now!" Shikamaru ordered the unruly crowd as they slowly got back to their feet. He looked at his son Shikadai, who was looking out from the clear ice that covered the broken window. Under the clear ice lay the body of someone impaled through the neck by the remains of the glass pane. "We will not tolerate your attack on fellow citizens of Konoha, much less heroes of Konoha."

"Heroes, you say?" The middle-aged man stood up and faced off with Shikamaru and Naruto. "She's our enemy, no question about it. Or do you mean to feign ignorance of her past actions?"

"I know about what she did all those years ago," Naruto replied bluntly. "And I do know who she is. Yet I still stand by Sumire Kakei. She's definitely not a threat."

"Sumire SHIGARAKI!" The man disrespectfully corrected Naruto by shouting at the top of his lungs. He spat out with much vitriol in his voice, "She is a Shigaraki! Her very birth was a sin! Her every breath is itself a crime for which she must be punished by death!"

Naruto, obviously trying to restrain his own anger and annoyance, addressed the middle-aged man by his name. "Gadon, you're just making yourself look stupid now, you know?"

"Me? Stupid? I think you are the retarded fuck, Uzumaki!" He held up both his middle fingers an inch away from Naruto's face. "She is a member of the Root! For all we know, she could be a member of Kara as well, gaining our trust while plotting our destruction. You stupidly allowed Kawaki in the village, and he betrayed us! We will not be fooled a second time. We are not idiotic, naïve, gullible fools like you are, Uzumaki! We see through that whore's seduction and lies!"

Shikamaru pushed him back away from Naruto. "Gadon, you are well-known to us for inciting hate-filled rallies and spreading your fear-mongering, discriminatory beliefs, all in the hopes of discrediting and destabilizing our administration, and to promote your own Fascist ideology. I highly suggest you leave now, or else we'll take you into our custody."

"I think not," the defiant and loudmouthed man newly identified as Gadon replied as he stood his ground. "You ramble on about your justice, your peace, your order, and your virtue of acceptance. We demand justice for them!" He shouted at the top his lungs in Naruto's ear while pointing to the bloodied members of the mob. "If you are not blind, evil, ignorant, stupid, and retarded, all at the same time," Gadon continued shouting in Naruto's face, "you would see that many people that I'm responsible for are now hurt, even dead! Murdered by the hands of that traitorous Shigaraki bitch and her friends, including that bastard son of yours, and that whore of a Uchiha that you call your student!"

Outraged at what Gadon had just said about his daughter, Sasuke lunged to strike Gadon down, only to be held back by Naruto. "You will not speak about my daughter and my pupil that way," Sasuke demanded. "I will not warn you again."

"Guess what," Gadon taunted him further, getting up close to his face and thrusting his middle finger against Sasuke's nose. "By my right to free speech, I can and I will! Your student Boruto will never live up to your expectations… nor will your daughter…"

Naruto grimaced upon hearing his son and his protégé being insulted further in front of his face. He sighed while letting go of Sasuke's arm. "Just don't kill him, okay?"

Sasuke elbowed Gadon square in the face, breaking his nose and lacerating him in one fell swoop. He then unsheathed his sword and held in up high, and revealed to everyone his Rinnegan. "Leave now or die."

"I could have you exiled once again for that," Gadon continued enraged, while his fellow rioters started running for the stairs. "Oppression against free speech!"

Sai shrugged. "There's always a limit to free speech. Anyone can strike you if you use it irresponsibly, and you often do."

"My lawyers will surely contradict you in court," Gadon threatened, raising his voice to Sasuke. "I will have you exiled once again! And I'll have you all punished too!"

"Surely you wouldn't want to go to court over this," Shikamaru pointed out. "You and your thugs had no legal permit to rally, nor is this apartment building fit or suitable to be a rallying place, and you'll have to pay a lot more for restitution and repairs to the damage of private property of Sumire Kakei that you committed here. Furthermore, Sumire and her friends had every right to their self-defense. I guarantee you; you will not win any of these cases. Now, are we done here?"

Gadon growled in anger while Shikamaru and Sai stood their ground in front of him. Some of his followers dragged him away to the staircase, while others collected their dead and carried them, but Gadon spat out one last promise. "She will die soon enough! FOR KONOHA!"

"Damn him!" Boruto cursed as he clenched his fists as the others returned inside the apartment.

"Boruto," Naruto asked him as he and Sasuke walked up to him after clearing the hallway. "Is anyone hurt?"

"I'm okay," Boruto affirmed to his father and master. "Sarada and Wasabi were hit a while ago, but no one's hurt too badly."

"That's such a relief," Hinata sighed as she stood up. "We ran here as fast as we could after we found out about the article regarding Sumire."

"Who could write such a thing?" Sai wondered. "I don't think anyone in your group of friends would sell Sumire out, wouldn't you think?"

Boruto fiercely shook his head. "No, I don't think that happened. No one would betray Sumire… Wait, what article?"

"There was an online article written anonymously," Sai explained to Boruto. "It was quite detailed about her life, her family, their connection to the Root organization, her past mission, her abilities, and Nue. I can't think of who else could know of such things."

"How about we discuss this inside?" Shikamaru observed as he looked down from the railing. On the ground, members of the dispersed crowd were now lifting the lifeless bodies of their friends out from the pools of blood that had splattered around them.

"I agree," Naruto replied. "It's high time I do a welfare check on Sumire anyway, just to see how she's doing."

"Oh yeah," Boruto remembered his father's past. "You told me back then about why you do those welfare checks. You also lived alone in your own apartment, and so you want to make sure that people don't feel that kind of loneliness anymore, right?"

Naruto nodded and smiled, and they entered the apartment together, only to see everyone crowding around Sumire in the living room. "Sumire!" Boruto exclaimed in worry as he saw her bawling her eyes out while being surrounded and comforted by their friends.

Sarada saw Boruto with the adults, and stood up after patting Sumire on the back. She walked up to them sadly and hugged her father again. "Thank goodness you came in time."

Sasuke hugged her back and breathed deeply. He then looked at her battered face; some bruises were already forming, and some cuts were still bleeding. "We could have your mother treat you when we go home."

"No need for that," Sarada replied. "Wasabi can patch me up in a while," she assured her father as she looked at Wasabi. Her cat-like best friend nodded to her while comforting Sumire, grasping Sumire's tremulous hand with her own two hands. Namida sat beside her girlfriend and was tending to the wound on her forehead, keeping the pressure and stemming the bleeding.

"Okay," Sasuke responded to his daughter. "By the way, I noticed that you used your Susanoo."

"I'm sorry Dad," Sarada apologized, "I know you told me not to use it yet because it's very costly with chakra, but I had to protect my friends."

"It's fine," Sasuke replied. "I'm not mad. To be honest, I felt nostalgic seeing the red Susanoo. It reminded me of my brother Itachi, your uncle."

"What?" Sarada looked at him with awe. "Uncle Itachi and I have the same Susanoo?"

"Not really the same, just similar shades. Yours is deep, brilliant, blood red, while my brother's was a warmer orange-red, much like the dawn sky. But wait," Sasuke continued, "do your eyes hurt? Does anything feel wrong or unusual with your body after you used Susanoo?"

"Well," Sarada admitted, "my body aches, and I feel a bit weak, although Nue connected me to its stored supply of chakra, so I'm not depleted with chakra or anything." Nue once again ran up to Sarada and Sasuke, and made its cute meowing sound.

"NUE!" It danced around, jumped up, and climbed Sarada's shoulder.

Sasuke pat it on the head. "Thanks for helping my daughter again… You truly are a curious, wonderful creature…"

Meanwhile, Sumire sobbed out in pain and in agonizing self-hatred. "I'm… horrible… worthless…" She let the flood of tears flow down her cheeks. Her eyes were deep red, and she looked down at the palms of her hands, which Boruto saw were trembling violently and involuntarily.

"You're not worthless," Namida shook her shoulder from behind the couch, trying to soothe her, "not even close."

Sumire kept weeping, her breathing short and hitched, her light purple seifuku-like outfit drenched darker from her watering eyes. As Boruto looked on, he opened his Jougan and noticed that Sumire's chakra was growing much darker at an alarming rate. It was swelling with anger, with hatred towards herself, and with her underlying depression and questions regarding her worth. Her feelings were spiraling out of control.

_"__This is bad, this feels just like when she was trying to destroy Konoha back then," _Boruto remembered internally. _"I can't let her fall back down to that state again." _

At that moment, Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Shikamaru, Hinata, Sarada, and Mitsuki all noticed him with his Jougan activated. Instinctively, Boruto knelt down in front of Sumire and hugged her tight. Sumire buried her face into his shoulder, and Boruto's shirt was quickly stained wet with a burst of fresh tears. "Go ahead Sumire," Boruto gently told her as he caressed her soft hair. "Cry it all out. Vent on me."

Sumire clenched her nails into Boruto's back as she wept harder. "I… hate myself… so much…" She cried out, out of breath, "I hate my life… Everywhere I go, everywhere I look… people doubt me, hate me, suspect me, want me dead… for the things my father did and wanted me to do… Even here in Konoha, people don't accept me… because of my blood, because of my abilities, because of Nue… Is there really something wrong with me?"

At that point, Boruto felt and saw the color of her chakra turning pitch black because of her growing negative feelings. "NO!" Boruto reaffirmed, squeezing Sumire as tight as he could; he became impassioned and angry that people had hurt Sumire and made her doubt herself.

"You're not useless! You're not worthless! You're not a bad person, Sumire, not at all! There's nothing wrong with you as a person, I promise you! You're really one of the nicest people I've ever met, hands down! You always treat me and everyone here with kindness, respect, compassion, empathy, love-"

"…Boruto…" Sumire squealed as she struggled, "can't… breathe…"

"Boruto!" Sarada exclaimed. "Stop squishing her! Sumire's turning purple because of you!"

"Oh shit!" Boruto released Sumire from the tight hug as he looked at her purplish face. "Sorry about that," he apologized as Sumire took a lot of deep breaths to regain her breath, the color to her face, and her composure.

Boruto continued, "But my point stands. You'll always be our class rep and our close friend, Sumire."

Sarada sat beside her. "You don't need to pay any attention to those hateful people," she wrapped her own arm around Sumire's shoulder, "because no matter what happens, we'll always be here for you. You can count on us for that."

"And so will we," Naruto affirmed his support for Sumire, who brought her clenched fists to her tear-drenched chest as she listened to him. "I will personally make sure that Konoha and the Shinobi Union will learn all the correct details of what happened during the Nue attack. And rest assured that I will vouch for you, and I will protect you against anyone who wishes to harm you, whether from inside and outside Konoha. You're still a prized, treasured, model citizen of Konoha. You will always be welcome here, you know? I will make sure of it." Naruto flashed a toothy grin and ruffled the top of Sumire's hair.

"I will also protect you," Sasuke spoke up while crossing his arms. "You're one of Sarada's best friends, and one of Boruto's best friends as well. If anything else, they can focus a lot more on their training and missions if they're assured of your safety."

Boruto laughed and rolled his eyes at the comment, and so Sumire caught a glimpse of Boruto's special eye. "Boruto, your Jougan!"

"I know," he nodded. "I'm just observing your chakra. It's becoming lighter in color, and the dark chakra is dissipating now, so I'm sure you're feeling better."

"Yes Boruto-kun," Sumire replied, her usual smile starting to creep onto her face once again. "I'm trying to get my feelings and thoughts under control again. Thank you for your kind words." She then turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "Lord Seventh, Lord Sasuke…" Sumire carefully said as she wiped her tears and bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you so much too. I really appreciate your kindness and your efforts to exonerate me. I'm really sorry that I'm an additional hassle to both of you, because I know that both of you are very busy right now."

"It's no big deal," Naruto reassured her. "We're all about to take a break from work anyway, so at least we were able to put this situation to a stop before it got any worse."

"Still," Sai sighed, deep in thought. "How did anyone else find out about you and Nue, write about it an article, and leak it for all the world to see? Boruto told me he thinks that none of you would betray Sumire, yet a lot of facts came from the article, including your family history, your abilities, and your past mission as an infiltrator and suicide bomber. Putting all of that together, the person who wrote this article either knows you personally, or is in touch with someone who does."

"Boruto's correct," Sumire answered, "I don't believe anyone here would betray me or intentionally reveal who I am."

Boruto thought about the situation when suddenly, Sumire's own words revealed the answer. "No one intentionally… but what if someone we know was under genjutsu, or threat of force, or even simply hacked?"

Sumire looked at him, realizing what he meant. "Katasuke? You think he might have sold me out?"

"Not necessarily sold out," Sarada clarified. "But we all know that Katasuke is prone to being possessed and controlled by genjutsu, and his technological research institutes have been hacked several times over the years, so it's not out of the question."

"Sumire," Sai asked her, "did you tell Katasuke anything about your abilities, your history, Nue, or anything about yourself at all?"

Sumire shook her head. "I didn't tell him anything myself, but he already knew about my past, about Nue, about everything. Yet he still accepted me as his assistant."

"That was because of me," Naruto revealed to everyone. "Along with telling him that you're a very capable kunoichi and expert researcher, I told him about the truth about the Nue Attack years ago, and gave him further knowledge of your family background. I figured that I should let him know about those things, so that there was an additional incentive to let him hire you because of his natural curiosity, and also so that there would be no trouble or complications to the secret mission I had given you, if ever he was able to find out who you actually were on his own."

"Yet," Naruto continued, "he was still very interested in your skillset, and was actually adamant about allowing you to take the internship slot. I guess he really wanted to observe you and Nue, and maybe how Nue works, so that he could try and find practical applications. And because there were no complications, you fulfilled your mission for me and Sai to spy on Katasuke and safeguard him, to monitor the discoveries, leaks, and progress that occurred in his labs, and to send us that information too."

"Knowing Katasuke," Boruto continued, "that's probably what he was doing all this time. So now, can we ask Katasuke if he revealed Sumire's identity to Kara?"

"Quite frankly," Shikamaru deadpanned, "unless you learn how to speak with the dead, no."

"Wait, what?" All of the teenagers stared at Shikamaru in shock. "Katasuke is dead?"

Naruto sighed and pressed his fingers to massage the growing headache around his temples. "When did this happen?"

"While you and Sasuke were still stuck in the other dimension," Shikamaru informed him, his voice deep with regret. "It was around 10 hours before you two managed to return with Sasuke's Rinnegan. Sai and I were holding down the emergency communications and video links to Ryutan and other towns in Konoha when Kara burst in their room. At that point, they had captured Ryutan and were rounding up the survivors and defenders in the town square, and they demanded that Katasuke surrender all his data and research over to them. He refused, and so Katasuke had his brains and body blown inside out by their guns on live broadcast shortly thereafter."

Sumire remembered accidentally destroying her enemy's face with the weapon she had gotten from him. She shuddered and cringed with disgust upon remembering the gruesome scene she has caused.

"Are you okay, Sumire?" Sarada, who was concerned for her friend, shook Sumire's focus back to the present.

"Yes, I'm alright. I just think that I know what kind of weapon they used on him. If you remember, I accidentally did the same thing."

Shikamaru turned to her with a surprised look on his face. "How do you know about guns and firearms? I don't believe you own one, because you can't buy one in the whole nation of the Land of Fire."

"Guns?" The others asked somewhat in unison as Sumire stood up and walked into her bedroom. After a few seconds, she returned to the living room carrying with her two hands a large, heavy looking, black and brown weapon strapped to her neck. Sarada, Mitsuki, Boruto, Naruto, and Sasuke all remembered that they had seen that strapped to Sumire's back while the attack on Konoha was taking place.

"Namida and I saw that while we were in your room a while ago," Wasabi noted, to the snickers of the rest of her group of friends.

"I got this from the enemy I killed," Sumire continued as her friends looked at the weapon in wonder. "Is this the one they used on Sir Katasuke?"

Shikamaru looked at it and shook his head. "No. The one they used had a distinct sliding handle on the underbelly, and it didn't have a scope on top of it."

"How does that thing even work?" Shikadai wondered.

Denki replied, "A firearm uses an explosive charge inside the cartridge or gun itself to fire projectiles at speeds high enough to be lethal, or at least cause a lot of pain and damage to the body. It is not necessary for you to exert any chakra for you to use it, and its design is such that its characteristics are not affected by charka at all. Both the Land of Iron and the Land of Rivers are known for manufacturing these weapons, their individual parts, and their ammunition, especially in Takumi."

"I can't use the weapon here," Sumire told everyone. "It's way too loud, and my neighbors will complain a lot about it. However," Sumire paused as she looked at Nue, who ran up to her. "I could show you guys Nue's dimension."

Upon saying that, she allowed Nue to form a circular, dark purplish, spiraling vortex in the living room, and there were reactions of awe displayed by everyone in the room. "Are you sure?" Sarada asked her, while then Boruto approached the portal, followed by Mitsuki.

"Don't worry," Sumire assured them, "this time, it's completely safe to just walk through it." Upon hearing that, Boruto and Mitsuki eagerly jumped into the portal. Wasabi and Namida both ran through it after them, and Himawari, Inojin, Hinata, Iwabe, Denki, Metal, and Chocho followed. Yodo and Ryogi slowly assisted Shikadai in walking through the portal.

"This portal looks very familiar," Naruto commented as he observed the portal closely.

"This is the dimension where I was able to hide Nue's presence from you years ago," Sumire explained. "It's also where Nue, Boruto, Mitsuki, and I ended up after we teleported away from Konoha during Nue's rampage. It originally crumbled years ago after Boruto destroyed my Gozu Tennou, but Nue said he reformed it a few days ago."

"So this is where Nue was… I couldn't sense his presence back then. Also, this portal looks similar as well to Sasuke's Time-Space Ninjutsu."

"Our portals do look remarkably similar," Sasuke concurred as he and Naruto leapt into the portal, to be followed by Shikamaru and Sai.

Before Sumire walked through her own portal, Sarada stopped her. "I'm still amazed at the fact that even though we've been best friends for years now, there's still so much that I haven't yet learned about you."

Sumire looked at her with a genuine smile. "And it's the same the other way around. I still have a lot to learn from you and with you."

Both girls giggled and gave each other a high-five. They then phased through the portal, with Nue behind them bringing up the rear and closing the portal behind itself.

* * *

**_How did you guys like Chapter 13? Please, leave favorites/kudos and comments ^_^ _**

**_Chapter 14: "Internal Strife" (the penultimate chapter of Sumire's Birthday arc), a lot more dramatic upheavals are going to happen, and another main antagonist will make his debut! _****_On the other hand, Chapter 15: "A Reason For Being Born", will focus on Sumire and Sarada's relationship, and Sumire's lingering problems with herself. It will also give more background and a really important development on the relationship between Wasabi and Namida, as well as the sleepover at Sarada's place! Chapter 15 will be the final chapter of Sumire's Birthday arc, and will also be the beginning of a new arc while I will not name yet (cause spoilers are abound XD). _**

**_What did you guys think about the revelations in this chapter? _****_Wasabi and Namida helped bring the situation in Shimo back to Naruto's attention!_****_ Mirai and Tatsumi are together! Sumire's identity was leaked to the entire world! And hateful, fear-mongering fascism also exists in their world! Also, the adults are planning a trip to the beach soon! ^_^_**

**_PS: _****_You'll also see Gadon in future chapters as well. _****_And yes, the name of the antagonist in this chapter is also based on a real life person in the Philippines, who is indeed as stupid (or worse) than how I portrayed his namesake here. After all, he ran for senator with a campaign pledge to literally KILL the ENTIRE Muslim population of the Philippines by using the Philippine Army as his private army. And he flips off students and anyone else who tries to fact-check him XD_**


	14. Internal Strife

_**Hey guys! Welcome back to another chapter of A Tale of Grace! Thank you so much for keeping up with my story! I love you guys! =D**_

_**Also, now is the part where I introduce a major antagonist for my story (and for the series too)! You might be shocked about who he is... Make sure to read his name out loud ;) =O**_

_**Enjoy the chapter! Comments, kudos, likes, etc always help! ^_^**_

* * *

**Chapter 14: Internal Strife**

One by one, the group walked into the alien landscape of Nue's dimension. They marveled at the old off-white tree stump that they had set their feet on, the clear streams and grassy knolls that they saw nearby, an outside table beside an run-down cottage in the distance, the powerful lamps dotted around the grounds that lit the entire area in a bright white light, and the large dome of wood high above them, which looked like it sealed the sky away from them.

"Everyone," Sumire raised her hands, "welcome to Nue's new dimension." Nue, who had since transformed back into its mid-sized version for the second time that day, roared in glee. It jumped off the stump, and ran in circles before finally settling down below there.

"Nue," Sumire gently ordered her special summon. "Set up these targets at 300 to 500 meters out, please? And place my rifle where we set up last time." She tossed her rifle to Nue, who caught it with its tail and set off to fulfill its master's request.

"This is so cool!" Wasabi said in absolute awe. "How could you handle and maintain something like this?"

"And it looks pristine and beautiful as well," Namida commented. "Why did you keep this secret? We could use this place to hang out, decorate, or train, all without anyone looking on at us."

Himawari twirled around and saw all the vibrant colors around her, as if it was it came from a landscape watercolor painting. "I never knew about this place. Why did you hide it from us, Sumire?"

"I didn't really hide it," Sumire explained to Himawari. "As Boruto and Mitsuki know, this place crumbled to dust after my Gozu Tennou seal was broken. It was only recently reformed by Nue."

Boruto now looked at Sumire with worry. "Where did you get all the dark chakra to reform the dimension? I don't remember you possessing and draining anyone of their chakra recently."

Sumire raised her eyebrow at him at first, and then gently smiled as she realized his assumption. She suggested to him, "Use your Jougan, Boruto-kun."

Boruto activated his Jougan, expecting to find massive amounts of densely packed negative energy and chakra, born from her own dark emotions and from Nue's chakra draining capabilities. However, as he looked around, he did not see any abnormal concentration of dark chakra, or any other abnormalities, whatsoever. "H-How?" Boruto stuttered in shock. "How couldd you reform it without the negative chakra?"

Suddenly, an unexpected voice popped up. "I used normal chakra instead." They all turned to Nue, who was looking straight at them with his mouth opened, and they were stunned.

"Wait, Nue… you can actually talk?"

"Of course I can… Well, at least in this dimension, you can understand me." Nue continued regardless, "Anyway, the statement that only negative chakra can make this place exist was a lie, perpetrated by Tanuki Shigaraki to deceive his own daughter, and the person I consider my mother, Sumire Kakei. He only ever made her focus on her suicide mission, so he lied to her and exaggerated the power and importance of negative chakra. Sumire believed him, as any child would do to his or her parents, and so had the original dimension made of negative chakra that we drained from people. But now, since I had a lot of excess chakra from the battles a few days ago, so I decided to reform it using that chakra and from what chakra I could capture from the surroundings."

Boruto was awed by both to Nue's humanlike voice and his abilities. As they were being led around by Sumire, Boruto added, "You're right. The atmosphere right now is so much lighter and friendlier than the last time we were here."

"We?" Sarada asked. "I've never been here, nor has anyone else by the looks of it."

Boruto elaborated further, "By 'we', I meant Sumire, Nue, Mitsuki, and myself. We ended up here years ago during Nue's Rampage."

Mitsuki added, "We stopped Sumire and Nue from pushing through with their plan to destroy Konoha. In the process, we destroyed this place, but it looks like it's been fully restored, if not improved. It seems like Sumire had a remnant of the Gozu Tennou Seal that survived along with her emotional and physical connection to Nue. But all this would not be here now if Boruto didn't stay behind in the disintegrating dimension for Sumire."

"We both saved Sumire and Nue, as well as Konoha for the first time," Boruto proudly concluded to everyone as he grinned, patted Mitsuki on the back, and gave Sumire the thumbs up, much to the laughter of the group.

"Wait a minute!" Hinata reacted in shock after she heard what her son and his friend had just revealed. "Boruto, you never told me about this! You could have died!"

Boruto looked behind him and saw his mother looking very angry, with both her Byakugan activated. His eyes grew wide as he froze in terror. Shikadai, Inojin, Himawari, and most of his friends got out of Hinata's way as she stormed to Boruto. "M…Mom…" Boruto backed away, only for Hinata to further approach him. "I can explain…"

But before Hinata could get directly in front of her son, Sumire stepped in front of her, extending her arms in a gesture to block off Boruto from his own angry mother. Sumire gulped nervously as she looked at the serious eyes of Hinata. She then bowed her head deeply while bringing back her clenched fists close to her chest. "I'm the one who should apologize to you, Aunt Hinata. It was my fault. I'm the one who put your son in danger, and I'm the one who nearly destroyed Konoha and killed Boruto-kun, you, your husband, and everyone else here. I'm so sorry for everything I've done…"

Hinata's face softened immediately. "Sumire dear, it's completely fine," Hinata replied to Sumire and put her hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "I heard from my husband what really happened. And from what both he and my son Boruto have told me, you're a really good person at heart, and that you were just used, abused, and misguided by your terrible father."

"Thank you… Aunt Hinata," Sumire nodded as she felt relief that Boruto would no longer be in trouble for something that she had caused. But then, she played back inside her head what Hinata had just said. "Wait," she now turned to Boruto in curiosity. "What exactly about me have you told your mom? And why were you talking about me?"

"Umm… Nothing really…" Boruto blushed hard. "Mom was just asking me back then about the female friends that I'm close to, you know?" Hinata smiled somewhat knowingly when she listened to Boruto's excuse.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"It feels great to be coming home," Kurotsuchi noted as she sighed and laid her head back on the seat of their private carriage in the Thunder Train. She looked out her window, and she saw the green grassy plains west of Kusa zipping by her at incredibly high speeds. The last vestiges of green soon disappeared, and in their place, the steppes of her country. She sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to sooth her worries. "I just can't shake this horrible feeling I have about Kara."

"What do you mean?" Her loyal aide Akatsuchi asked her curiously. "For the most part, we have them on the run, right?"

"Well yes, but in the first place, how could they have assembled such sudden and coordinated attacks in secret?" Kurotsuchi turned to face him. "And even though most of these attacks failed, there was still so much damage and chaos everywhere. Everyone's on edge, and though most of us won't want to admit it, there's distrust even within the Shinobi Union."

"That's not really a surprise. There will always be some level of tension between nations, even in times of prosperity and times of peace."

Kurotsuchi looked at her aide with a face full of uncertainty. "And this is no time of peace."

"I know," Akatsuchi replied. "And I know it could get worse. But all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. No use in complaining otherwise."

Kurotsuchi laughed and nodded. "That sounded a lot like something my father used to say back when we were younger."

"You're right," her aide told her while reciprocating the laughter. He leaned back into the soft seat and admitted to his Tsuchikage, "I did get that quote from your father."

The train started to slow down as it neared in the Iwa Train Station. As the train came to a grinding halt, Kurotsuchi stood up, stretched, and walked into the train station. Akatsuchi followed her while carrying her belongings. As she walked though the open terminal, she approached an old vendor, whom she knew well from years past.

"One soya milk with caramel," Kurotsuchi smiled.

"As per usual," the middle-aged man beamed back as he handed her a glass bottle with the caramel-flavored soya milk. "Though what's been happening today is anything but usual…"

"What do you mean?" Kurotsuchi asked with piqued curiosity and a hint of worry. "What's unusual? Has there been another attack?"

The vendor shook his head. "Not an attack, but a whole lot of the military went through here earlier. I overheard them saying that they're going to congregate in the plaza and in front of your residence. It might be in response to a threat of the Kara attack, but it was still unsettling."

"That's weird," Kurotsuchi pondered. "I don't recall giving an order to mobilize. Akatsuchi, who else could give an order of this kind?"

"Hmm… It could have been your father? He still has some powers as former Tsuchikage-"

"Dammit… One of these days, I should really strip him of those powers," Kurotsuchi growled in annoyance. "He's surely already gone senile. This could really set off a panic unnecessarily. Or if there was a threat, he could have at least given us a warning before doing so."

"But Lady Tsuchikage, I don't think it was Lord Onoki," the old vendor gave his own opinion. "I didn't hear anything about him issuing anything."

"Whoever did this," Akatsuchi advised Kurotsuchi, "we can simply ask for the reason for the mobilization once we get back to the Residence. But I don't think it's anything too out of the ordinary, especially with what's happened over the past couple of days."

Kurotsuchi nodded, paid the vendor, and hurried to the plaza. Even though her aide was being optimistic, or maybe even oblivious, she herself suspected that something was amiss.

As the pair arrived at the stone-bricked square in front of her Residence, shinobi of the Land of Earth's Armed Forces were already amassing. To Kurotsuchi, it seemed almost as if they were garrisoning the plaza. While some of them were rolling in some big wooden crates, Kurotsuchi approached them.

"What's happening? Why are you all assembled here right now?"

"Lady Tsuchikage!" The three shinobi bowed towards her in respect and reverence.

"Is there a threat of another attack by Kara?"

One of them replied, "No, it's not another attack on Iwa. In fact, this is all because the Lord Daimyo is holding a parade in your honor. He told us that it was to celebrate the successful defense of our city, and to thank you for your contributions as well."

Kurotsuchi raised her eyebrow. "So the Daimyo did this…" She then noticed the crate they were bringing along. "What's in that box?"

The shinobi responded hesitantly, "Some fireworks for the parade. I'm sure you will be pleased once we start lighting them up!"

Seemingly satisfied, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi nodded, and they went ahead and entered the Residence. However, as they walked up the stony steps of the grand staircase, Akatsuchi noticed that Kurotsuchi had a pensive, unsure look plastered all over her face, the face she would usually make if she were deep in thought. "My Lady, what's wrong?"

Kurotsuchi kept walking silently until they both got to the top of the stairs. Then as they walked to her chambers, she explained, "There's something really wrong about all this. I can just feel it."

Akatsuchi sighed, thinking he had figured out the problem. "Look, I know you're not on good terms with our Lord Daimyo. He's a sexist and all; I know that. But just let him hold this celebration for you and be done with it. Otherwise, it'll just create more drama and irritation for the both of us to deal with. We already have our hands full with Kara."

"It's not just that," Kurotsuchi replied as she shook her head. "Don't you see? You know how much Lord Roa despises me, right?"

"He despises powerful women in general," Akatsuchi clarified with a slight chuckle. "He can't stand seeing women standing up to him, I guess? Hmm… maybe, just maybe, it's an olive branch from him to you?"

"Definitely not that last one. He's never done that in his life… I really think there's something off about everything happening right now." She stood before her door, unlocked it, and entered, with her aide following her inside. "Something's clearly up. You and I both know that Lord Roa would never do anything like this, especially for me. As you said, he hates powerful women, after all. I'm sure Lord Roa is up to something. I don't trust him one bit… Akatsuchi, can I ask you to do something?"

Her loyal aide nodded. "Of course, you can count on me for anything."

"I'm planning to leave before the parade starts. I have this gut feeling that Lord Roa is planning something… Please gather up all of the government ministers and department heads that you can. Tell them to pack up with their necessities and valuables, bring their families if possible, and board the next train out of here, preferably to Konoha. Do this quickly, and keep a low profile so you don't make anyone suspicious. Can I trust you with that?"

"Of course. And what about you?"

"Almost all the things I need are in those bags you just carried, so please bring them to the trains. I'll pack up the rest of my belongings."

"I meant," Akatsuchi clarified, "What will happen between you and Lord Daimyo?"

"He said that the parade would start when he says so. So I'll stall for as long as I can, to buy you time to gather everyone in secret and leave."

"That's a plan," Akatsuchi obliged and grabbed hold of Kurotsuchi's baggage again. "But what about your father?"

"Can you try and look for him as well? Take care of him, please?"

"I'll try," Akatsuchi reassured her as he approached the door. "Good luck to you, and stay safe."

Afterwards, Kurotsuchi triple-locked the door and started putting all of her valuables in her special go-bag. She then went into her bathroom, stripped all of her clothes off, and stepped into her bathtub filled with warm water. She relaxed while glancing at her phone every few minutes, waiting for any updates from Akatsuchi. _"I'll have to buy enough time for Dad, Akatsuchi, and the others," _she said to herself, _"and to delay the parade and the meeting with Lord Roa."_

After about half an hour, she heard light knocks outside her chamber. "Lady Kurotsuchi," a woman's voice, which Kurotsuchi knew to be her maid's, was heard. "Lord Daimyo requests to meet with you as soon as possible."

"Please tell him that I'm awfully tired and haggard right now. The fighting, the trip to Konoha, and the stressful Shinobi Union meeting really sapped my energy. Thank you."

"I will, my lady. Please relax for now."

Kurotsuchi was about to go back to relaxing and pondering Lord Roa's next moves and motives, when her phone buzzed. She checked and saw Akatsuchi's message saying that he's rounded up all the officials he could find. Most are already making their way to the station with their family and valuables, while the rest are packed up and ready to go with him escorting them. The only catch was that he could not find Onoki anywhere. Kurotsuchi grunted deeply at that last sentence. "I guess I'll have to look for him."

Slowly, she rose from the tub, dried herself with a towel, and put on a fresh set of clothes for herself. As she left the bathroom and grabbed her go-bag, she looked around her, as she realized that she might not be able to see and be in this room of hers for a while, maybe for a long time. Whether or not the Daimyo was actually plotting against her or not, blowing off the Daimyo and the parade is sure to cause some repercussions politically. But she felt foreboding, a sure feeling that something horrible was surely about to take place right then and there.

As she resolved to look for her father and leave Iwa with all her appointed officials, she was startled out of her thoughts by loud thuds emanating from her door, which sounded as if someone was kicking her door down. Before Kurotsuchi could react any further, the door was sheared off its hinges and locks. Four Anbu shinobi quickly barged into her room, followed by a wrinkly old man clad in brown and green formal attire. Kurotsuchi immediately put her guard up.

"Lord Roa!" She spat and stared a hole into him, "what is the meaning of all this?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Roa replied with obvious disgust and disdain in his voice. "You took too much time, just like you women do. Ugh, so disappointing, considering you're supposed to be the Tsuchikage, the leader of the Land of Earth… But you're no better than any other woman."

Kurotsuchi grimaced and cringed at his misogyny. "And you're no better than any old close-minded man who needs to die off."

Upon hearing that, the Anbu ninja all drew their weapons, while Roa raged and fumed. "How dare you talk to me like that? I am the Shog… the Daimyo of the Land of Earth!"

"And I'm the Tsuchikage, whether you like it or not. How dare you trespass into my chambers? Just barging in without my approval? My father would have atomized you immediately if you did this to him."

"Hmph, I became impatient. Your father would never be this late in the first place, so you're moot and pointless as usual. Why did you take so long?"

"I needed to freshen up of course, to look good for the parade. If it was you in my place in the Shinobi Union meeting, you would understand-"

"I doubt I would be anywhere as vain as you women are," Roa glared at Kurotsuchi as the tension in the room became more and more palpable. "And I could handle those damned foreigners better than any of you ever could. I demand you come with us to the plaza immediately. We don't want the shinobi there to wait too long out there in the noon sun, do we?"

Kurotsuchi cautiously eyed Lord Roa and his Anbu guard. "You know, I'm sick of your attitude towards me, other women, and people not part to our country." Kurotsuchi defiantly stood her ground. "So what if I refuse?"

The Daimyo laughed coldly. "I'm afraid I'll have to insist," he retorted, "as you're in no position to resist." After saying that, he pulled out a shiny metallic weapon from his back pocket and pointed it directly at her. It was quite similar to the kind of pistol that Kurotsuchi recognized from Shikamaru's presentation at the conference just days ago, the ones that Kara used. Her eyes grew wide, as she realized what all this entailed.

"This is treason! You would dare to sell out our nation to Kara? What did they promise you in return? Power? Money? Influence?"

"What the fuck are you talking about? Shut up, bitch!" The angry Daimyo spat back at the Fourth Tsuchikage. "I've had enough of you embarrassing my nation and defiling the title and position of Tsuchikage. I could no longer bear to see a weak, worthless, pathetic woman like you, in power in my nation. So I decided to change all of that. I will prove to you that only men such as myself can run this country, and truly give our citizens what they yearn for and deserve. Even if I am not allied with Kara, I will fully restore The Land of Earth to its former greatness, and bring prosperity to our nation for generations to come!"

Kurotsuchi stayed silent, digesting all that the Daimyo had revealed. She had known for a long while that Lord Roa had despised the notion of women in power. He was quite old, 70 years old if she recalled correctly, and very misogynistic, having been born during a time when it was the norm. She had never trusted him fully, nor did she ever like being in the same room with him for an extended period of time, but to think he would go to such great lengths as to actually launch a coup d'état against her. As she wondered if everyone in the plaza was aware of Lord Roa's plot, and if they were all on his side, Roa continued his angry tirade.

"You whore! Say something!"

Annoyed, Kurotsuchi countered, "First you tell me to shut up, now you're telling me to talk… You've become senile now, haven't you?"

"Watch your language woman," Roa warned her. "You're speaking to the soon-to-be Shogun of the Land of Earth!"

"I am a woman, yes," Kurotsuchi conceded, "but not a weak woman. And Shogun, huh? Is that your new political title to give you some semblance of legitimacy to the people? The Land of Earth and its people will not accept you as their leader, not without a fight."

"At least I won't have you meddling in my affairs and sapping the strength from my people, as you and your fellow Kage have done. Meddling in the Land of Frost's affairs as well, with your blockade? What utter stupidity. I will put a stop to that. I'll put an end to you."

A moment of tense silence followed, only broken by an unexpected voice. "I have heard enough!" As Roa and the Anbu ninjas glanced behind them, they saw Onoki by the doorframe, floating and levitating upwards from his motorized wheelchair. "I will not let any of you bastards do anything against my granddaughter."

The Anbu ninjas all looked towards Lord Roa, who looked down and sighed audibly. "It really had to come to this…" He looked up, his old face smirking. "Kill them both."

"Particle Style: Double Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" Two identical white cubes, both with spheres of light at their centers, appeared between Onoki's palms. He then threw both cubes, and as they expanded, they caught the four black-clad shinobi and eviscerated them. The four were enveloped in a bright flash of light, never to be seen again. Lord Roa fell to the floor, dazed and temporarily blinded by the sudden brightness.

Onoki, on the other hand, exhausted himself from using too much chakra, and started falling to the floor. Kurotsuchi ran to catch her falling grandfather in her arms before he hit the ground. She caught him in time, and then quickly ran out of the room and through her mansion, all while carrying him on her shoulders.

Behind her, she heard the Daimyo scream for help out the window of her room, proclaiming her a traitor to the soldiers outside, and ordering them to hunt her down and kill her.

"Dammit," Onoki mentioned, "if only I was a bit younger, I could handle them all with ease! My 95 long and hard years… not good for my back and my knees…"

"You're actually 97 now," Kurotsuchi corrected while she ran down the wooden stairs and through the back exit; she wanted nothing to do with the army right in front of her mansion. "Going on 98 in two months."

"Really… I could have sworn…" Onoki was cut off by the sound of the military officers shouting orders, and the confused shinobi soldiers running around and searching for them.

"They're hunting for us," Kurotsuchi whispered. "Save it for later." Quickly and silently, they ran towards the station, navigating the long and narrow stone streets of Iwa. The closer they got as they approached the train station, they louder they heard shinobi coming up from behind them. Occasionally, bullets would fly close by and impact the houses to their sides, sending fragments of rock and concrete flying into Kurotsuchi's light skin, tearing and bruising it. Her arm was bloodied and gashed in multiple places, but she nonetheless kept her tight grip on her grandfather, who himself was holding on to her neck and shoulders.

"We're almost there," Kurotsuchi panted as the train, their only means of escape, came into view. In front of them, the train was filled with passengers fleeing the chaos of Iwa. Most of them were ordinary citizens panicked by the coup and violence, but Kurotsuchi could make out Akatsuchi and some of her trusted cabinet members waving at her by an entrance, motioning her to go faster. A few seconds of desperate running, and she joined them on the train, leaping the last few feet and landing inside before being caught by Akatsuchi from falling out the other side.

"The Third and Fourth Tsuchikage are here," Akatsuchi shouted at the top of his lungs to the train operator. "Go now! Go now!"

"Yes sir!" The operator pushed the throttle of the train to its maximum setting. The train jolted from rest and started accelerating down the tracks. Before long however, the operator shouted back. "There are soldiers who are going to break the tracks in front of us! We'll crash if they do!"

"I'll handle them." Everyone looked to see Onoki levitating once again and flying out from the left side window to the top of the train.

"No!" Kurotsuchi went after him, slowly climbing up from the hatch of the train carriage. "You're too weakened from the atomic jutsu you used earlier! Please! Let me handle them-"

Onoki ignored her plea and put his hands forward. "Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" He aimed the white cube upwards just enough so it would not hit the tracks, and fired it from his hands and wiping out a dozen soldiers along the tracks.

However, just as his granddaughter warned him, the jutsu took up most of his remaining chakra, and he fainted and fell backwards on the roof, moving dangerously closer to the right side of the train. "Akatsuchi!" Kurotsuchi ordered. "Make sure to catch him if I don't… He's falling on the right side."

She then pulled herself up to the roof and reached forwards to catch her grandfather and prevent him from falling. But it was too late. Before her fingertips could even grab hold of his clothing, Onoki fell off the right side from the roof of the train. "Akatsuchi, catch him! Please!"

Kurotsuchi quickly climbed down and went back inside through the train hatch. She saw Akatsuchi at the window, pulling his outstretched arm back inside. But his hand was grasping only a green, yellow, and red cloak. "He fell through…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

The train had long disappeared from the blurry sight of Onoki, when soldiers loyal to the new self-proclaimed Shogun grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away. Instead of fighting them off, Onoki decided to conserve his strength and chakra.

_"__I'll most likely be brought before Lord Roa," _Onoki told himself, _"which means I can kill him before he can make things much worse…"_

The Earth shinobi dragging Onoki rushed through the city of Iwa. A growing crowd of astounded onlookers had already gathered at the plaza, when the soldiers arrived and unceremoniously dropped Onoki on the stone bricks. They then stood around him, with one of them announcing a litany of absurd and obviously manufactured charges against the Third Tsuchikage. The crowd that had massed in the circle began to shout curses at him and demand his punishment, with some even chanting for his death. _"What the hell has happened to my people?" _He asked himself incredulously._ "Are they this gullible and easily manipulated?"_

"If you are all that idiotic and gullible to turn against me and my daughter to serve this madman," he shouted rather loudly, "then all of you should be killed! Such stupidity!"

The colorful sea of soldiers and hostile citizens parted, and through the gap strolled Lord Roa Du Tertae and his armed personal guard, known infamously throughout the country as the Du Tertae Death Squad. Onoki got onto all fours as he sensed Lord Roa approaching him._ "Almost time… I can take out the head of the snake right here…"_

"How sad," Roa's voice spoke in front of Onoki. "You condemn all of these good people to die, because they would support a leader who will actually serve them and their interests first… how unbecoming of a leader."

Onoki looked up and spat on Roa's feet. "You and your people can go to hell! My daughter and I have served this country as best we can for over fifty years! We will not let you and your machinations ruin what we have built in Iwa and throughout our nation! I would rather die than see that happen!"

"No matter," Roa retorted. "I will fulfill your wish. You will not be a thorn in my side and the side of our people any longer. For all the charges you are accused of, I find you guilty as charged! And the punishment of your crimes is: Death!"

"Death! Death! Death!" The incensed, baying crowd repeated and chanted furiously for Roa to give Onoki his capital punishment.

Onoki prepared to summon all of his chakra into one burst for his particle-style. Onoki knew in the back of his mind that, while he would certainly be able to kill Lord Roa and his Death Squad, he would also lead to the deaths of many of his own people as collateral damage of his atomic dismantling jutsu. However, after he took one full glance around him, he already justified their deaths.

"And whoever passes the sentence of death," Lord Roa announced further, "should also be the one to swing the sword and execute…"

_"__I'll have to be quicker than the swing of a sword then,"_ Onoki pointed out to himself. _"I can still do that… just have to focus on my timing…"_

"Any last words?"

Onoki remained silent for a while. Unbeknownst to Roa, he was building up his chakra in his hands, readying himself to strike and end the coup against his daughter. "I will say this…" Onoki finally spoke. "You are going to die… Roa Du Tertae… in the most… horrific way… you can imagine…"

"Wrong Onoki," Roa replied, his voice full of hate. "You will… Die!"

Onoki sensed the arm of Roa Du Tertae perform a swift motion. "NO!" Onoki sprang up to his knees and put his hands together, pointing directly at Roa's chest. "Particle Style: Atom-"

A loud, heart-stopping gunshot cracked the air; the sound was reminiscent of an electrical generator backfiring violently. Smoke flowed out from the long steel barrel of Roa's own pistol. The limp body of Onoki fell back down to the ground in a bloody, gory heap, with the hole in the front of the old man's head letting out crimson, gray, and pink splats. The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, now laid dead on the stone bricks of Iwa Central Square.

"Hang his body here in Central Plaza," Roa ordered his personal guard. "Make an example of his body, and let our people do the rest!"

At this request, Lord Roa Du Tertae's Death Squad shot the corpse of Onoki dozens of more times with their own pistols and rifles, making sure that he was truly dead. They then hung him by his feet in the center of the circular plaza, where the victorious mob of Iwa citizens gathered around the lynching. They had been convinced that Onoki and Kurotsuchi were some of the main reasons why their nation had fallen into the embarrassing state it was currently in, not to mention the constant shameful instances of bowing down to the will of the Land of Fire and the Hokage.

The people who took part in the mob were now celebrating what seemed in their minds to be the toppling of the former corrupt, inept tyrants, and a rise of the true power of the people. And now that an object of their anger and hatred was within their grasp, they unleashed all their pent-up shame and fury on it. Some of them beat the hung body with bamboo canes, heavy sticks, and clubs. Others stabbed at it with knives, swords, spears, and other blades. Still others took it upon themselves to urinate directly on the shattered head to further desecrate Onoki's body.

Not everyone in Iwa joined in the senseless brutality. In fact, a lot of people were turned off by these senseless acts of violence. A sizeable number of people indeed ended up leaving because of the disgraceful, uncontrolled, gory frenzy that their fellow Iwa residents performed.

But soon the spokesperson for Lord Roa, Bon Goh, appeared amongst the people. He announced to the people, "In several minutes, Lord Shogun Roa Du Tertae will make his inaugural address. Please settle down and listen to our dear Shogun!" Because of this, most of the crowd decided to stay. Meanwhile, some Earth shinobi removed the bits of Onoki's decimated corpse from where they had hung it, kept its pieces in a resealable container, and walked away from the plaza towards the Daimyo Residence.

Only a few minutes after he mercilessly executed the former Third Tsuchikage, Lord Roa Du Tertae gingerly walked up the steps of the Tsuchikage Mansion to the open pulpit balcony. His 70-year old frame ached slightly, but it also trembled to its core with unbridled excitement and nervousness. His long wait was finally over, and he would finally assume the sole leadership of the Land of Earth that he had wanted desperately for so long. He passed through the door and onto the balcony, looking down at the huge cheering crowd of his supporters before him.

"No more old men stuck in the past like Onoki," he began his speech with vitriol and hate seething from his voice. "No more weak, appeasing, incompetent women like Kurotsuchi. It is time to rise up as a nation and take back what is rightfully ours! At long last, I am now free to do as I have promised many times before! I will lead the Earth Nation back to greatness, prestige, power, influence, and prosperity. I will bring change to our proud Land of Earth, a return to form from generations past! We will once again be the superior nation on this continent, and we will crush the arrogant, pompous bastards of the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the other nations who dare defy us!"

The baying crowd cheered in their ultranationalist pride. They booed every single mention of the other great nations, even the lesser nations bordering them, and spewed hatred towards the other Kage when Roa called them out them by name.

"I killed Onoki, and protected everyone in the process from his atomic jutsu, which would have killed so many of you in this very square. But while he is now taken care of, the Fourth Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi remains alive! The whore has fled the Land of Earth, fled from all of us who want her dead and gone! She is a traitorous bitch who must be killed at all costs, and so I deem anyone and everyone who harbors her in their own country as an enemy of Iwa, an enemy of the Land of Earth! And I promise you this: We will crush all our enemies! We will kill them all! We will be victorious!"

The mob roared in a show of swelling, furious love for their own country above all others.

"Too long have the damn Tsuchikages been mere appeasers to the other Great Kage! Too long have we as an entire nation been subservient and overshadowed by the other Great Nations! Let me tell you this now: We are not an inferior nation to them! We are not an inferior people to them! And we will show them the true full strength of Earth! We shall make their ground tremble, we will make their land crack open, and we shall break their spirits! We will prove that the Land of Earth and its people can match any of the other peoples any day! We will prove our superiority over them! If it takes war to do so, so be it! And if it takes my death to do so, I would gladly give my life for my country! Long live the Land of Earth!" He concluded his address and bowed, to a reception of rampant cheers and howling oaths of utmost loyalty to the new Shogun of the Land of Earth.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Sumire's new weapon is so cool," Denki commented as he adjusted his glasses to closely analyze the wooden frame and metal parts of the sniper rifle. "It has good range, and packs a lot of punch."

Iwabe sat down beside Denki and Metal on the whitish tree stump in the center of Nue's new dimension. "Her gun not only pierced the metal targets, but they very nearly made it through the other side of the rock wall I formed behind the cans! Its penetrating power is awesome!"

"The sounds it made were so startling," Metal admitted, "and it looked like it might hurt to use it, because of its powerful kickback on Sumire's shoulder. I got a bit nervous just watching."

Meanwhile, Wasabi and Namida were sitting on the grass, hands clasped and fingers intertwined, watching on as Boruto, Sarada, and Sumire tested out their chakra sabers. Mitsuki was close by to the three friends, and was ready to catch any of them who would start to feel ill from chakra exhaustion caused by the sabers.

"I wonder if we can be allowed to use those new weapons on more of our missions," Wasabi thought out loud. "Our opponents would be cowering in fear once they hear those gunshots or see the glow of the chakra saber."

"But our missions usually don't let us actually kill targets," Namida protested. "And even then, I don't want to kill anyone, even indirectly. Sumire herself said she killed a Kara Inner with that sniper rifle."

"It was purely by accident…" Sumire tried to remind her while she carefully swung her chakra saber at Sarada, who made sure to block the hit and attempt a counterattack.

"He would have died anyway," Sarada countered at the same time she lunged at Sumire, who sidestepped her. "Because you had Nue drain all of his chakra out. It was almost like you euthanized him instead. But in any case, a kill is a kill, all the same."

Sumire huffed in defeat to Sarada's point. "I guess you're right…"

"Also Namida, we don't really need to actually shoot them," Wasabi tried to reason out with her girlfriend. "We just need to scare them enough to think that they could be badly hurt. I think things could become easier for us that way." Namida sighed as well, and conceded the argument.

Meanwhile, Boruto was applying the different sword techniques and moves he had learned from his master Sasuke, such as swings, switches, stabs, twists, and lunges. He was also passing them down to Sarada and Sumire, as well as how to spot them quickly and defend appropriately against them. While the two kunoichi were parrying Boruto's slow-motion strikes with their own chakra sabers, Sarada began to feel dizzy. Noticing this, Boruto stopped his yellow chakra saber mid-swing. Sarada's blood red chakra saber shorted out, and she fell backwards, only to be caught by Mitsuki's outstretched arms. "Your chakra is at a low level."

Sumire turned off her curved hilt, dark purple saber, and attached it near her waist. "Are you okay, Sarada? You look paler than usual."

"I think that's… enough for me for today…" Sarada breathed heavily. "Wow… it's like a heavy workout…"

"We've only been at it for about three minutes," Boruto looked at his watch. "So that's how long you can last with your chakra saber."

As Sarada stumbled towards Wasabi and Namida, Mitsuki chuckled and approached the other two. "I still remember our battle from five years ago. Boruto and I versus you and Nue."

"I still recall that you really tried to kill me," Sumire replied, "while Boruto saved me."

"I… I am sorry about that."

Sumire was taken aback that Mitsuki actually apologized for something. It did not seem right, or possible even, if it was the old Mitsuki. "You have changed," Sumire nodded. "It's okay, I don't take it against you. You had your own orders from Lord Orochimaru, correct?"

Mitsuki nodded. Boruto, fearing that the two still felt some tension against one another, stepped in between them. "Both of you," he insisted, "make a seal of reconciliation now." The two friends agreed to his request and clasped their main two fingers together in a sign of peace.

"Good, Boruto observed happily and put away his saber as well. "So Sarada lasted 3 minutes with her chakra sword, while I would last around five to seven more minutes at this rate. How about you Sumire?"

"I don't feel any strain," she replied nonchalantly, "though that might be because I'm connected to Nue, and I'm using him like a huge reserve chakra tank. If I disconnected from Nue, my own chakra would probably last… I don't know, maybe about 10 to 12 more minutes?"

As Sarada regained her breath, she noticed her father and the other adults coming closer to them. Sasuke asked, "How was your chakra saber?"

"It was a nice experience," she responded to her father, "I liked using it. I think it could help build up my stamina and build up the amount of chakra I'd have inside me. And even then, the newer models like the ones Boruto and Sumire have are much more efficient with chakra usage, so they won't drain me as fast as this one did."

"You also have to take into account how much and how fast you expended your own energy," Sasuke reminded her. "But you're right in that this can help train and build up your stamina for the future."

Beside Sasuke, Shikamaru analyzed the surroundings. "We could make this a temporary refugee area if need be," he suggested to Naruto. "Thousands of people could fit in here comfortably."

"I'm very impressed," Naruto remarked. "This place reminds me so much of the Kamui dimension that Kakashi-sensei and Obito had years ago."

Sasuke turned to them and pointed out, "the fact that Nue was able to create two dimensions for itself, including this new one, speaks volumes as to how much Tanuki actually knew about the Otsusukis, travelling between different dimensions, and how to actually create one. Without his research, it would have been much harder for me to piece together and understand the dynamics of dimensions with my Rinnegan. I wouldn't have been able to determine what dimension Momoshiki and Kinshiki had taken you to, much less travel to it with Boruto and the other Great Kages and rescue you."

"I think it should be obvious already," Shikamaru spoke up, "but I trust that everything we're seeing now, everything that we're learning now, has to be kept secret from everyone outside."

"The secrets are already out of the bag, with regards to Sumire," Sai lamented. "Her family history, her other abilities, her previous suicide bomber mission, and her Nue. Though I agree that this dimension should be kept secret as much as possible, what effect will it have for Sumire's situation? I don't see it getting much worse."

Shikamaru looked at him with his eyebrow raised. "For one, I don't want to needlessly jeopardize Sumire even more. Nor do I want Konoha's citizens and allies to turn against her, or grow more fearful and distrustful of her. Second, we cannot risk any knowledge or experience of this to fall into the wrong hands. It will be such a drag, it's not going to be funny at all."

"I will not let it get to that point," Naruto firmly reminded Shikamaru. "I promised her that I would do everything I can to protect her and make her life more comfortable here. No one deserves to go through what I went through back then. And I always follow through with my promises."

"Honey, don't you think we should be getting back now?" Naruto looked behind him to see Hinata approaching him. She hugged him from behind and leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's getting a bit late."

"Of course," Naruto replied. "Everyone, shall we return to Konoha?"

The large group of friends groaned but obeyed. "Sumire," Naruto turned to her, "is that okay with you? Or would you like to spend more time here for now?"

"It's okay Lord Seventh," she responded respectfully. "I'll go back to the apartment with everyone."

Within the next two minutes, the entire group left Nue's dimension through the portal still open at the top of the large tree stump, with Sumire and Nue being the last to go through. "I think they liked it here," Sumire patted Nue on the head. "At least, I hope they did… it feels so great to be back here…"

Once everyone returned to Sumire's apartment, they found Konohamaru, Hanabi, Moegi, and Udon, all waiting. "Great timing!" Naruto exclaimed. "I was just about to ask for a full jonin team to guard Sumire's apartment to keep the peace and prevent any more attacks on her."

"Sumire is my ace student," Hanabi responded confidently. "I know for a fact that she can fully defend herself."

"I'm very sure of that too," Naruto revealed. "What I'm not so sure about is if her would-be assailants can defend themselves from Sumire's wrath. I just don't want any more of Gadon's followers to be killed or hurt, so that he can't make them into more excuses to be able to vilify Sumire."

All of the younger generation giggled amongst each other, while Sumire panicked. "Hawawawa… I'm so sorry about the hassle I'm causing…"

"But in any case, this isn't why we are here," Moegi interrupted.

"Lord Hokage," Konohamaru requested, "we must ask to escort you back to the Hokage Mansion."

"If you've all forgotten," Naruto sighed, "I'm on standby mode. I'm going to spend time at home with my family. I'd let you guys handle this. Just go to me if something truly major actually happens."

Udon bit his lip before replying, "Something major did happen."

"There was… a coup d'état… in the Land of Earth," Hanabi informed her brother-in-law Naruto.

"WHAT?" Naruto's face contorted into disbelief. He stayed silent, trying to absorb the new information. After a while, he covered his face and groaned. "What happened? Are Kurotsuchi and Onoki okay?"

Konohamaru shrugged his shoulders. "We don't know much, other than the fact that Kurotsuchi was overthrown by her own daimyo."

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed and shook his head. "Such horrible timing… Fine, I'll go with you guys." He turned to his family. "Sorry… I guess I can't escape this one. I'll try to be home by the morning."

"I'm really sorry about taking Naruto away," Konohamaru apologized to Hinata, Boruto, and Himawari, "when I know he promised that he would be at home with you guys. I truly am sorry for this."

"It's an emergency," Hinata responded, "and it sounds pretty bad too."

"It is…" Hanabi leaned into whisper into her sister's ear. "Onoki was captured by the new leader… He was publicly executed…"

Hinata gasped silently, softly enough so that Naruto could not hear. "Are you going to tell my husband about this? They are very close…"

Hanabi nodded. "We'll brief him fully back in the Hokage Mansion."

"We'll make sure to bring him home soon," Konohamaru assured Boruto and Himawari.

"I'll go with you," Sasuke told the four jonin and Naruto. Shikamaru and Sai then followed suit and also followed the others on the way to the Hokage Mansion.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Lord Roa and his closest advisors were beginning official negotiations between the Earth Nation and a potential major ally from across the Western Ocean. Inside one of the massive and elaborately decorated rooms of the Shogun's Residence, Lord Roa and his advisors sat on the right hand side of the long stone table, while the foreign diplomats sat opposite them. The diplomats' skin were white, and their facial features and physiques were very different from anything that had been seen on the continent before.

"My Shogun," Bon Goh said to his lord, "here before us are the representatives of the Empire of Gran Merikhan."

"Lord Shogun Roa," the head foreign diplomat saluted. "We come from the Merikhan continent, about 5,500 miles beyond your western shores."

"I know perfectly well who you are," Lord Roa informed him, "and I know where you came from. I've had backchannel dealings with some of your people before…"

"Whatever do you mean?" The head Merikhan diplomat smirked funnily and raised his eyebrow.

"You can drop your feigning ignorance," Lord Roa clasped his hands together. "We are in control of the Land of Earth now. The Shinobi Union doesn't even know of your existence yet, thanks to that incompetent whore Kurotsuchi and her mind being distracted by internal squabbles."

The primary negotiator for the Merikhan delegation chuckled slightly. "As you wish. While you know us well, you are also well-known to us."

"I cannot thank you enough," the self-proclaimed Shogun elaborated, "for your covert support, for selling us the guns we used to seize control of Iwa and overthrow the useless Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi." Roa then pulled out his own shiny steel pistol and showed it off to everybody else in the room with him. "And thank you for this beautiful handgun that I used to execute Onoki, her traitorous father."

"Both of our great nations stand to benefit from us assisting you in your mission," the Merikhan diplomat explained matter-of-factly. "After all, you must know by now that we want to open up a good, viable, and secure foothold in this continent for the economic and trade profits. So of course we would help you, so as to advance the interests of both parties."

"Fair enough," Roa nodded. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And the other great ninja nations still stand in your way towards your goal of conquest. They are our common enemies."

"Truly. Now, let's get on with the signing of the treaty." The Merikhan diplomats opened their treaty folders, with the Land of Earth representatives doing the same. "Our two nations wish to enter a bilateral alliance, but some conditions and prerequisites must be met first. First, regarding economic support, we pledge to give you a sizeable and steady stream of inflowing money, to help you fund fighting your wars and running your country. On the other hand, regarding trade, we ask that our ships be allowed access to your ports and trade hubs, so we can increase our trade power and steer trade to our nation's economic and commercial hubs as well."

Lord Roa looked to his advisors, who all agreed. "Seems reasonable enough to me," he replied. "What else is there?"

"Next, regarding weapons shipments. We promise to continue selling military supplies to your army at a discounted price, provided that the economic and trade boosts we requested will continue to be granted to us. Our deliveries of weapons and armor include our specialty, firearms."

"We would love a lot more of those guns," Ver, one of the premier Land of Earth generals, and a close friend of the Shogun, responded. "They're very easy to carry and use. It doesn't take a special hero to shoot and kill many of our enemies easily; even a normal peasant drafted into our army could do it now."

"Finally, regarding military access, we request that you allow the volunteering regiments of our empire's army access to your lands, so that they can help fight the same battles and the same enemies as you."

"I will definitely allow your military forces in my country! We'll likely be at war with the Shinobi Union soon, after all."

"The Merikhan volunteers will pledge to support your rule and your armed forces, on the condition that you also support Merikhan interests on this continent. Those include acquiring essential supplies and natural resources at the cheapest possible prices, ensuring our economy and trade benefit… In general, advancing our economic ideology of capitalism, our common political ideology of fascism, and all the other tenets of our imperialist doctrine. Is that okay with you, Lord Roa Du Tertae?"

"Those all sound good to me. As long as we benefit from additional soldiers, further training of our own soldiers, a surplus of weapons and supplies, and more money, we'll accept the offer."

"Then our alliance is now official," the Merikhan diplomats concluded, and both sides signed the treaty on the folders.

*******XXXXXXX*******

After Naruto, Sasuke, and the others went to the Hokage Mansion, everyone began to leave Sumire's apartment. Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Wasabi, Namida, Inojin, Himawari, and Hinata all stayed longer, until more than thirty minutes after the others left. But eventually, they all left around ten minutes past 9 o'clock. As the group walked though the door, Boruto stopped to give Sumire another reassuring hug before he left.

Sumire turned down the lights after Boruto stepped out, to conserve electricity and save money on her electricity bill, though she then wondered if there would even be a bill coming this month, considering all the damage to the city and the grid. As she gathered all of her presents for the day and brought them inside her bedroom, the sudden emptiness finally hit her. Sumire realized that once again, she was alone in her dark and lonely apartment, the exact same way she had begun her day.

She began to feel dark and unpleasant emotions building up inside her, now that she was alone. She shook her head and tried to prevent herself from falling into another depressive spell for the second time on her birthday. An idea came into her head to do just that. "I know! I'll play my favorite game on the new console that Ryogi and Shikadai gave me! After all, the game disk they gave me was a port to the latest console edition. It should have much better graphics and smoother gameplay!"

She plugged the newest generation console into the socket and turned it on, and then she put slipped the game disk into it. After watching the familiar anime-like intro to the role-playing game, which was Sumire's absolute favorite amongst the many entries in her favorite series of games, she started a new game file and began to immerse herself into the story again. Two young boys from the small city of Lhant, Asbel and Hubert, the children of a highly respected Lord, found a mysterious amnesiac girl in the middle of the Lhant Hill meadow, and brought her back to their father's Manor in the city. They also introduced them to their red-haired friend, Cheria, who was too sickly and couldn't venture with them outside Lhant.

She played long enough to witness a fan-favorite skit, where the three friends named the mysterious girl as Sophie. Sophie wore odd clothes that stood out from the others, used cool and shiny gauntlets that packed a deadly punch, and she had ankle-length twin pigtails of nearly the same violet hue as Sumire's own hair. Sumire began to feel bad again, because she felt some form of empathy towards Sophie and her situation. "How great would it be," Sumire wondered aloud, her voice quivering in the loneliness that was overcoming her again, "if I just lost my memory like Sophie here?"

"That wouldn't be nice at all."

Sumire's eyes grew wide at that easily recognizable voice. She paused the ongoing skit and looked behind her. Sarada was leaning on the open doorframe of her bedroom, looking perplexed and concerned at what was seeing: Sumire, playing in front of her TV in the darkness of her bedroom, all while mumbling to herself about possibly losing her memories.

"…S-Sarada? Why… why are you back?"

"I left my phone on your sofa… Sumi, are you okay?"

"Sarada…" Sumire looked like she was about to cry again, that the negative emotions still buried in her were threatening to explode once again.

Taking matters into her own hands, Sarada ran to her best friend and enveloped her in a hug. "It's okay Sumire… I know it's been a whirlwind of a day… And I'm sure not all of your bad feelings have been let out yet… Let it all out on me…"

Sarada listened to Sumire venting. She didn't mind the passing time any longer, as her dad would be out late too anyway. "I just feel alone," Sumire sobbed, "now more than ever… and I feel irredeemable… so guilty… In the back of my mind… I can still hear Gadon's mob… chanting for my death… they made me feel like no matter what I do… I won't ever really be a good person… that nobody could ever really love me for me… even Boruto… or you…"

"Hey…" Sarada soothed Sumire. "If you lose all your memories, even the ones about your traumatic childhood, you won't be you anymore… you won't be the same Sumire that I know and love…"

Sarada put both of her hands on her purple-haired friend's shoulders and looked at her in the eye. "And you're not alone. I'm here for you. Boruto is too, and so are Wasabi and Namida, and all of our other friends. We may not be physically by your side all the time, but don't let those bastards make you think that you deserve to be alone."

Sumire slowly nodded, and so Sarada wiped the tears from her face. After a while, Sumire calmed down more or less, and Sarada asked, "You have a psychiatrist, right?"

Sumire nodded her head. "How about we both pay her a visit? I also have a lot of things to get off my chest… about sixteen years worth of pent up emotions to release… I guess I could give it a try."

"Sure," Sumire cracked a smile, "My next session will be this Saturday… that's three days from now."

"I'll be there," Sarada enthusiastically replied.

* * *

_**How did you guys like the chapter? Please, feel free to leave comments below! ^_^**_

_**The next chapter, Chapter 15: "A Reason For Being Born", will be up on (*NOT late Wednesday/early Thursday!) next Sunday, d**_**_ue to an important exam on the 24th that I'm reviewing heavily for (huhuhu Civil Engineering life), and because I decided to slightly rewrite the plot to take into account the unexpected rise in popularity of Houki & Hako of Team 25 ^_^_**

_** There will be a visit to the psychiatrist and a sleepover at Sarada's house involving the five girls... plus a rather gothic girl who will be passing by and making an appearance! Yes, Hako Kuroi and her doll will be making their debut in this story... in the next chapter! =D ^_^**_

_**It'll be the final chapter of Sumire's Birthday arc, and the launching pad of the next arc, still without a name for its obvious spoiler reasons XD**_

_**Also, RIP Onoki... what a brutal death... And all those people who desecrated his body after... :'(**_

_**Trivia: **_

_**1) "Internal Strife" both referred to Sumire's internal struggles and to the Land of Earth's situation right now. =O**_

_**2) The Empire of Gran Merikha, whose lands lie far to the west of the continent we know, will also be an important plot point in the future! Both in this book and the series to come! You'll see what they can do... soon enough... =O**_

_**Also, General Smith, the member of Kara responsible for carrying out the Ryutan Massacre, was also mentioned by Jigen and others to be of Merikhan descent, but officially he is not part of the Merikhan Army.**_

_**3) Do you guys know who I based the main antagonist and now Shogun of the Land of Earth? Again, read his name out loud ;) XD**_

_**PS: I'm so going to get attacked online by all the DDS, once they get wind of this =(**_


	15. A Reason For Being Born

**_Hey guys! I'm back with my next chapter! Sorry about the longer-than-usual break, but I'm studying hard so that I can pass this advanced math and programming/engineering subject (CE 27 huhuhu) already XD_**

**_My exam is on July 24, so wish me luck! Also, since that's a Wednesday, I might not be able to upload my next chapter on that day (I'll be tired AF from the exam, so I might pass out the moment I plop onto my bed hahaha sowwy :'( )_**

**_Anyway, I hope you guys like Chapter 15! Enjoy! And feel free to leave comments and kudos and likes and follows and all! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 15: A Reason For Being Born**

The sun shone on clear skies, with only sporadic clouds passing by over the city. But Sumire's focus was not on the beautiful blue sky, or the gentle breeze flowing in the air, or even Sarada, who was walking beside her while asking her some questions. Rather, her mind lingered on what she was seeing right in front of her.

"Sumire?"

Sumire's face slowly turned to Sarada's, as they walked through the bright and lively streets of Konoha in the middle of the morning. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

While the two kunoichi strolled along, many people who caught even a glimpse of Sumire noticeably rushed away from her, going out of their way to avoid crossing paths with her. Others looked on at her with hate and fear blazing in their eyes, but did nothing. There would be those few citizens who were either apathetic or ignorant of who she was, and Sumire was grateful for those short respites. They gave her a chance to bury her emotions of loneliness and rage, both of which were becoming increasingly difficult to control, before another torturous round of undeserved insults, disrespectful glares, and shocking obscenities, was inevitably hurled at her.

Sumire and Sarada were nearing their destination when a group of old men, who stood on the pedestrian overpass above the road, spat at Sumire, hitting her chest and face with their disgusting saliva bombs. Meanwhile, a few teenage boys, who egotistically thought of themselves as brave protectors and servants of their country, threw eggs, rocks, and even pairs of scissors right towards Sumire's face. They all missed because of Sumire's fast reflexes, but Sarada was so incensed of their treatment of her best friend that she picked up the thrown rocks and threw it back at them, hitting two of the teens. She picked up a third stone, only to be restrained by Sumire herself.

"Don't Sarada… Don't do this for my sake…"

"But I can't accept this! You don't deserve this!"

One of the bleeding teenagers spat at them, "The fucking Shigaraki bitch needs to be killed off, so she can't make any more traitors to Konoha with her children!"

"Jiggy!" One of his other friends pulled him back and away from the two girls. "Let's get out of here! We could get in trouble!"

"We'll kill you soon! Just you wait, you sluts!"

"I'll kill you first before you even hurt my friend!" Sarada angrily promised as she was held back by Sumire. "I swear as the future Hokage-"

"Sarada, please! It's not worth it! They're not worth it…"

The two cleaned themselves off and entered the building to their right. As they walked up the stairs to the fifth floor office of Sumire's psychologist, Sarada asked once again, "So, did you hear what happened last night?"

"About the aftermath of the Iwa coup d'état? Lady Tsuchikage arriving in Konoha and being welcomed by Lord Seventh, and the emergency Shinobi Union meeting that followed? I know that much, but what happened during the meeting?"

"The meeting itself was very tense, according to my dad. The Kages weren't unanimous in lending military support to Kurotsuchi, because of the ongoing Kara Offensive, and so a lot of heated arguments broke out. In the end, the Wind, Rain, Grass, and Fire Nations, all promised to supply enough manpower to create a Shinobi Union peacekeeping force, one that could help Lady Kurotsuchi take back full control of the Land of Earth, or at least settle the fight without too much fighting. On the other hand, the Lightning and Water Nations will not be able to lend any men, but instead they agreed to fully take over monitoring the blockade of Shimo. They'll also give more direct assistance in rooting out the Kara strongholds, like the ones at Yu, Takumi, and Ryutan."

Just as they reached the fifth floor landing, Sumire asked Sarada, "Who's going to lead the Shinobi Union forces?

"We don't know for sure yet. But Dad said it's most likely that Shikadai's father, Shikamaru, will be chosen as the general, considering his military expertise and knack for good strategy."

"Where will the army be stationed for now, while there is no war yet?"

"As far as I know, it will be put into place near the city of Kusa in the Land of Grass. It's the easiest path for the Land of Earth to take if they want to invade and attack Konoha… If ever they do try to invade through the Land of Grass, the army will prevent them from crossing without a hell of a fight."

"That sounds like a good defensive plan," Sumire remarked. "Kusa is surrounded by open fields of grassland, and doesn't offer much of a natural barrier to the Land of Earth, unlike the dense rainforests of the Land of Waterfalls and the Mile-High Mountain Range of the Land of Rain."

The two best friends now stood outside a door, and Sumire knocked on it thrice. It opened after a few seconds, revealing a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was wearing thin glasses and comfy clothes, and inside her room, gentle soothing music played in the background. "Sumire! You're back for your monthly session… and you brought a friend with you?"

"Miss Saito," Sumire greeted respectfully. "It's so nice to see you again! And by the way, this is Sarada! She also wanted to try this out."

"Of course!" Miss Saito welcomed them into her office and closed the door behind them. "Don't worry Sarada, first sessions are free! Feel free to sit down. I'll get ready."

The two girls sat on the white and brown sofas and relaxed for a bit. Miss Saito came back quickly, holding pens and notepads. "Sumire, would you like to go first? So we can give Sarada something like a demonstration."

Sumire agreed and lied down beside Miss Saito on another soft sofa. She put her hands on her chest and breathed in and out slowly to relax. "So," Miss Saito opened her notebook for Sumire, "how have you been for the past month? Anything to vent about?"

"I'm having flashbacks of my traumatic memories again… In my dreams, or even in normal days, I just… suddenly have these… umm, relapsing moments… when I seem to relive my past…"

"Like what exactly? What memories do you relive?"

"The beatings that… Tanuki gave me when I was little… like his neglect towards me… The nights I ran away from home and slept out in the rain, or in one of the towers in Ame, or along one of the great rivers in the River Lands… I still feel horribly about the way my childhood played out. It's really depressing… I never got to experience the normal things that most kids got to… I was isolated from other kids, and I didn't have any friends when I was growing up, because that went against my father's rules…"

"…Lingering depressive spells," Miss Saito quickly jotted down on her notebook her observations. "No need to force yourself to remember your childhood, Sumire. But is there anything else you wish to tell me about?"

"I… still feel so guilty… for attacking Konoha in the past… for trying to destroy the entire city and everyone in it… all to please Tanuki… It's now so much worse because of the constant death threats I'm sent… the obvious hatred a lot of the people of Konoha now feel towards me… people I don't even know… people I've never even met… they really want me dead…"

"So many people are defying Lord Hokage's direct orders," Sarada growled. "They're openly showing Sumire their misplaced hate, anger, and disgust. Dammit! Instead of trying to improve their own lives, they're pulling Sumire down as a scapegoat to make themselves feel better…"

"Crab mentality is something that will really bring everyone down," Miss Saito sighed as she continued writing in the notebook. "Thank you Sumire. I'll talk to you and try to give you some advice afterwards. Let's have Sarada first, is that okay with you?"

"Of course… Sarada, you're up now…" Sumire sullenly stood up and walked to the windowsill to look at Konoha below.

Meanwhile, Sarada took her place on the sofa. She felt that it was still quite warm from Sumire lying down there. "Miss Saito," Sarada began, "I don't quite know where to start. This is my first time…"

"Sarada," Miss Saito opened up a new notepad to write on for Sarada, "I have always found that the best place to start is at the beginning."

Sarada nodded. "Okay then… From when I was born-"

"Umm… Not that far…" Miss Saito laughed nervously. "Please…"

"No, really. From the time I was born, up until around four or five years ago, my dad was never there for me."

Miss Saito comically huffed in relief, but then began to listen closely to Sarada's story. "I lived with my mom, and always talked about Dad and their love story. But I never met my dad until I was 11 years old… And when I did finally meet him, he tried to kill me…"

Miss Saito dropped her pen onto her lap upon hearing that part of Sarada's story. "Your father… he's in jail now, right?"

"What? No, of course not! He only killed me because he thought I was one of those weird Shin clones that were out to kill him."

"Ohh, the Shin Uchiha clones? It's sad, what happened to them…"

"Why is it sad? Their creator being a homicidal maniac who would kill and sacrifice his own children to save himself?"

"…Well that… and the fact that they're all dead now…"

Sarada gasped. "What happened?"

"The Konoha Orphanage building, where they all lived with their caretaker Kabuto, was hit by the falling bombs during the Kara Assault… then the shells with the poison gas… only Kabuto made it out alive, and he's still in a coma in the Hospital…"

"Shit… I didn't even hear about that until now…"

Miss Saito felt bad for even bringing up the topic, so she immediately segued back to Sarada's life story. "…How about we continue? You were at the part where your father almost killed you when you met him?"

"After I met Dad for the first time and we came home, he stayed at our house for a few days, but then Lord Seventh ordered him to go out on another mission… It continued to be like that for three years; he would arrive at Konoha, stay for a week at most, train with me and enjoy time with his family, before leaving on another mission for about three to four months. Sometimes, he'd even bring Boruto with him to let him see the outside world more, so in that time, Team 7 would be inactive."

Sarada went on, "It wasn't until two years ago that Dad began to stay for much longer. He actually stayed here for more than a year, but four months ago, Lord Seventh asked him to help investigate Kara. He only returned just before the attack began."

Miss Saito nodded and tapped her pen on the notebook. "Your father is Sasuke Uchiha, isn't he? So you must be Sarada Uchiha, and your mom is Sakura… It all makes much more sense now. I mean, Sumire had talked about you before as well."

"You know my father?"

"Not personally," Miss Saito admitted sheepishly. "But I did admire him before, when I was still a kid. He was so cool and mysterious, and he still has a suave air around him. I did get a chance to meet your mom, on the other hand. When my mother got sick because of a tumor in her lung, Sakura was the one who operated on her and nursed her back to health."

"Anyway," Miss Saito concluded, "I'm guessing you want to say that your father not being there with you during your childhood left an emotional gap or mark in you."

Sarada's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Yes… That actually was very close…" She sighed deeply. "I really wish that my dad spent more time with me when I was younger. I know he's here with me now, and that the many moments we share nowadays are so fun and happy and meaningful, but that all the more makes me want to be with him longer… Sometimes, I just can't help but think: What if we were a normal family living normal lives?"

"Sarada," Miss Saito gently put her hand on Sarada's shoulder, "we can't change the past. But while we can't change our past histories, we can definitely change our as-yet-unwritten futures. And I'm glad that you recognize that you still have your dad, who I'm sure loves you very much. If you still want to make up for lost time, you can ask your mom and dad to spend more quality time and bond together more in the days, months, and years to come. It will be worth it, trust me."

"I will," Sarada nodded. "Thank you for the advice, Miss Saito."

Sarada sat up on the sofa and turned to Sumire, who was looking out the window, to ask how she did for her first try. But she noticed something odd: It seemed to her as if part of Sumire was shaking. Adjusting her glasses slightly, Sarada saw that Sumire's right hand was indeed trembling badly.

"Sumi," Sarada's voice revealed her concern, "are you okay?"

The purple kunoichi replied, "I don't know…"

Miss Saito grabbed her notepad for Sumire and flipped it open, prepared to write down at any second. "Is this about your father Tanuki?"

"DON'T!" Sumire demanded in an unexpected shout, before seemingly realizing that she was out of breath. "Don't call him that! He's not my father… He's not…"

"Why not? He is your real dad, biologically speaking."

"I don't consider him my… father… He's Tanuki…"

"Miss Saito," Sarada tried to intervene, "I think we should stop."

"No," the psychologist replied. "I've never seen Sumire like this. It's as if I'm seeing a brand new side to her. She's always put up one excellent façade or another, but it was always either happy or sad… But never angry…"

"Sumire," Miss Saito kept prodding, "why don't you think of Tanuki as your real father?"

"BECAUSE SUMIRE KAKEI IS A DISGRACE! SHE IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER FAILURE TO TANUKI SHIGARAKI!" Sumire's much deeper voice cracked and quivered in anger and rage as she exploded in an uncharacteristic fury. "TANUKI WOULD NEVER ACCEPT THE USELESS KAKEI AS HIS OWN DAUGHTER! NEVER!"

"Sumire!" Sarada hugged her best friend in an effort to both restrain her and calm her. "Please calm down-"

"BORUTO SHOULD HAVE LET MITSUKI KILL ME ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!" Sumire fumed in an outrage that did not fit her usual demeanor at all. "IT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN SEEING MY BODY AND SPIRIT AS PATHETIC AND SOFT AS IT IS NOW… IT IS BEING WASTED ON THE DAMN KAKEI!"

"Shhh… I'm here for you, Sumi… I'm here… Please calm down…"

Miss Saito, although shocked at Sumire's unexpected outburst, jotted down her observations and conclusions. It took around three whole minutes for Sarada to soothe Sumire and bring her back to her normal state. Sarada then laid her best friend back down on the couch, and firmly held her still shaking hands.

"I… wasn't myself…" Sumire slowly apologized. "Sorry… it felt as if someone else lived in me… and just took over control of my mind…"

"Sumire…" the psychologist in the room diagnosed, "it seems you have a mild split personality disorder, with side diagnoses of moderate bipolar disorder and very severe PTSD."

"Why did you do that to her?" Sarada asked Saito, with a hint of anger in her voice.

Miss Saito calmly explained to the two of them, "The Lord Hokage told me about her dark and terrible past years ago, just after Sumire became my regular patient." She pulled out a file from her nearby cabinet. The file had Sumire's picture on its front, along with the word "confidential" stamped in red and all caps below her picture and name. "He informed me about your past poverty and the severe abuse that you experienced from your father Tanuki, abuse of all kinds: Physical, Mental, and Emotional. Because of those traumatic experiences, you were very likely to have some lingering psychological problems. But you Sumire, as good a keeper of secrets as you are, kept it hidden all this time. For years, you kept up that brave façade for me and for your other friends too, even at the cost of your own personal mental health. Thankfully, we were finally able to bring it out now, and diagnose it before it could go on untreated and unchecked, before it could worsen further."

"So you've just been waiting for her to snap?"

"Not really. I would have preferred that she tell me about it without the part where she got angry. But either way, at least now we know what's happening. And I'm glad… if Sumire is indeed telling the truth, then this is the very first time since her assault on Konoha that her other self took control, and that was due to my overly aggressive provocation. That's why I diagnosed your split personality disorder as only mild."

"But why does Sumire have this? What causes this split personality?"

"I think it's because of her traumatic childhood, and the stress and depression she still feels from it," Miss Saito hypothesized. "I think that because of the horrible conditions she lived in before, Sumire eventually developed an alter-ego, which associated itself with the name of Sumire Shigaraki. Meanwhile, her normal true self was relegated to the identity of Sumire Kakei. According to Boruto and Mitsuki in this file, during Nue's Rampage, Sumire was trying so hard to convince herself that Sumire Shigaraki was the real her, so that she would stay loyal to her father and the mission he had for her."

"I've read before that split personalities could be a result of the mind trying to make a sort of defense mechanism," Sumire replied, finally admitting to the other two that she had known some parts of her condition for a while now and kept it secret from them. "Is that true?"

Miss Saito hummed in thought. "No one is sure yet, though I did read that study about multiple personality disorder being a possible defense mechanism against emotional trauma. I would say that their methodology was rather good and their conclusions were acceptable, but there's no scientific consensus as of now."

"But if your guess is correct," Saito conjectured, "then you may have been using Sumire Shigaraki to convince your father, and maybe even yourself, that you were obeying his orders, perhaps in the hopes that he wouldn't punish and hurt you as much as he usually would."

"I still… don't like to call him my dad…" Sumire seethed. "He never loved me like any real parent would…"

"In any case, when Boruto saved you from the horrific fate that your own…" Saito caught herself, potentially preventing another outburst from Sumire. "No, that Tanuki had chosen for you… When he saved you, you gave up trying to be Sumire Shigaraki. Instead, you fully accepted your real and true self, the person you truly wanted to be, and you adopted your current name and personality of Sumire Kakei. However, even I had a gut feeling that your Shigaraki persona never fully left you, and we have just confirmed that it is still present in you."

"Miss Saito," Sumire wondered, "how do I get rid of her?

"Can I be of any help in curing Sumire?" Sarada added to the question.

"Sumire," her psychiatrist noted, "you are very strong physically and mentally, but not quite as strong emotionally. You'll be able to live with this, but you'll need many friends, people you can really trust, to help you cope with your depressive spells, anxiety, bipolarity, and your lingering PTSD. You'll need those loyal friends, like Sarada here, to reassure yourself that you won't be abandoned, left alone, or thrown out to the trash in the end, as you feared back when you were a child."

Sarada summarized Saito's words. "So Sumire needs continued support and reassurance from all her friends, right?"

Saito nodded enthusiastically, and so Sarada gave Sumire a hug. "Don't worry, I'm not going to give you the tightest hug in your life. Boruto nearly suffocated you with his hug during your birthday; if I hug you any tighter than that, I might kill you by accident."

Feeling fuzzy and warm inside, Sumire leaned into her best friend's hug. "Thank you so much… Sarada…"

"About that sleepover we were thinking about," Sarada reminded her, "I've asked my parents about it, and they allowed me to have you guys come over next week. So it'll be us two, plus Chocho, Wasabi, and Namida. I'll invite the others, but I think everyone should be going."

"Great!" Sumire genuinely smiled and laughed. She sighed in relief; while her day started out very rough, it was now turning out quite well.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Sarada was laying down three extra mattresses on her room's floor. Her room was tidy and organized, somewhat reflecting her personality.

While planning the sleepover, things had been a little bit touch-and-go there for a while, Sarada remembered, as she placed covers on the beds and snacks on her table, snacks she was sure would be devoured the minute Chocho entered her room. The girls were all worried that due to the sudden escalation of the conflict in the Land of Earth, their sleepover could be cancelled. Luckily for them, their night of fun fell on the night before their Deployment Day, when they were to be sent off to the peacekeeping and reconnaissance mission that Naruto had assigned to them.

The doorbell rang thrice, and an excited Sarada quickly ran down the wooden stairs to open the door. Sakura peeked out from the kitchen, still wearing her apron and holding a spatula.

"The girls are there already? I'm not done cooking dinner yet though."

"Mom," Sarada calmly replied. "It's only 5:30. Don't worry about dinner just yet, we won't starve to death in the next hour." When she opened the door, she saw two of her closest friends standing in the afternoon sun. "Sumire, Chocho, come in!"

"Sarada-chan!" Both girls greeted in unison, hugging the life out of Sarada until she jokingly threatened to use her Sharingan on them. The three girls sat down at the dinner table and also greeted Sakura.

"Aunt Sakura," Sumire asked, "how have you been?"

Chocho added, "Do you have a lot of food prepared? I'm excited as always for your meals."

"I've been okay," Sakura told them. "And don't worry girls, I've got a lot of tasty food coming up later. I know you'll need as much energy for your upcoming mission. How long did Naruto say it would last?"

Sumire politely answered her. "Aunt Sakura, Lord Hokage said it could take at least two weeks, and at most around a month."

"At least we shouldn't experience any active combat," Chocho sighed in relief. "We'll only be doing recon operations from the Mile-High Mountain Range in the Land of Rain, from where we can see the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass."

"Still," Sarada countered, "we'll be securing the vital pass at Mount Tirad in the Mile-High Mountains. So this still is quite an important mission, and top secret too."

"Whatever your mission is," Sakura reminded the three girls, "keep yourselves safe. This is war after all, and things have also changed so much since our time. There's so much new technology and weaponry on both sides, which only means it has become easier to kill and hurt your enemies on the battlefield." Sarada, Chocho, and Sumire all nodded and promised to protect themselves and each other.

"By the way," Sarada asked her two friends when she noticed the absence of the other two members of their group. "Where are Wasabi and Namida? I thought they were coming along with you?"

"Wasabi said she'll stay behind and wait for Namida," Sumire revealed. "Though I don't know if Namida is busy. She might have some family matters to attend to?"

"What are the chances that they could be having s-" Before Chocho could even finish her question, Sarada and Sumire both covered her mouth shut with their hands.

"My mom doesn't know about the two of them yet," Sarada whispered into her ear. Chocho's eyes grew wide and mouthed an apology.

Sakura noticed the sudden awkward silence. "Is everything okay girls? I hope my food doesn't smell off."

"Umm nope," Chocho replied, trying to look for an excuse. "Your cooking just smells delicious as always, so I zoned out thinking about eating all of it."

"That's right," Sumire continued with her line of thought. "We need to prevent you from eating everything. We'll have to hold you back if needed."

Sarada concurred, "You might leave my dad sad and hungry again like last time. You left absolutely nothing for him to eat."

Chocho laughed, a bit ashamed by the memory they brought up. "Sorry, I didn't notice that, with all the chicken I was eating…"

"Don't worry about that," Sakura assured Chocho. "I'll just have another batch ready if you're up for it." Chocho rejoiced while Sarada and Sumire both simultaneously sighed and laughed with relief. As they were enjoying their conversation, the doorbell rang again, and someone knocked on the door.

"That's probably Wasabi and Namida," Sarada guessed, and so the girls stood up and opened the door.

"Hey guys!" Wasabi smiled as she saw her close friends. "Is Namida here already?"

The others shook their heads. "She's not here yet," Chocho replied. "We thought you said you two were going together?"

"I thought I missed her going here already," Wasabi admitted. "I'll try calling her." She then entered the house, but not before they heard thunder rumbling somewhat nearby. As they looked up, they saw that the sky now had the shades of dusk illuminating the clouds; a lot of the clouds were dark, and streaks of lightning dramatically lit them up then faded away just as quickly. "It looks like it's going to rain tonight."

Sumire observed the deteriorating weather. "Do you think it will still be raining by tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," Sarada replied. "It's probably just a thunderstorm passing by."

"I just hope Namida gets here soon," Wasabi sighed worriedly.

*******XXXXXXX*******

The beautiful dusk colors finally vanished as the warm day turned into a cold and rainy night, and as everyone was settling down around the dining table, Sakura was finishing up on the last of her dishes. Chocho was rearing to go, ready to swallow whole the first piece of food that would pass into her sight, while both Sarada and Sumire were working together and desperately trying to hold her back to her chair, Wasabi was frantically calling and messaging Namida, to no avail. Sasuke, as usual, was calm despite the chaos and fun around him, hoping in vain for a simple, quiet dinner.

"Alright, dinner's ready!" Sakura announced proudly. She walked by and put the food trays down on the table. Chocho overpoweringly jumped at the food, and Sarada and Sumire, who were clinging to her arms, were then flung over across the table, nearly hitting Wasabi who was at the middle of the table, then tipped over the two chairs to the left and right of Wasabi, landing on their backs in the process.

"We're okay over here," they reassured everyone else. "Just don't let her eat everything!"

"Chocho… Akimichi…" The girl in question looked up at the voice, and saw Sasuke glaring at her with both of his eyes revealed, one of them a blood red Mangekyo Sharingan, and the other a purple, onion-like, full-fledged Rinnegan. Trembling in absolute terror, she slowly returned the tray to the center of the table, although half the fried chicken was already gone. Everyone laughed heartily, and afterwards, they were all seated and enjoying the food. All except for Wasabi, who barely had any food on her plate and was still trying to contact her girlfriend.

Sakura noticed her favorite student's reluctance to eat. "Hey, what's the matter? I hope nothing's wrong with my food…"

Sarada glanced at Wasabi. "No word yet from Namida?"

Wasabi shook her head, so Sumire placed her hand on Wasabi's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be here soon," she reassured her. "If anything happened to her, we surely would've heard her."

Chocho howled at the joke, but Wasabi bit her lip in nervousness. "I just… have a bad feeling about this."

"Still Wasabi," Sakura requested, "please eat dinner for now. You can focus on contacting Namida after getting a full stomach."

Wasabi nodded and thanked her medical teacher, appreciating the care she always showed towards her, before getting more food onto her plate. As Wasabi continued to call Namida's number while now eating of her food, Sarada spotted Sasuke looking inquisitively at Sumire, who didn't seem to notice. She felt worried that her father might ask personal things again, just like what happened on Sumire's birthday a few weeks ago.

"I hope you're not going to ask Sumire any more of those uncomfortable questions," Sarada pleaded her father. "I don't want her to feel unwelcome here."

Sakura looked at her daughter, confused and curious at the same time. "Wait, what exactly did your father do?"

"Hawawawa," Sumire let out in a panic, "there's no need for this, Sarada! I wasn't uncomfortable or anything, I promise!" She then turned to Sakura. "Sorry Aunt Sakura, this was all just blown out of proportion."

"No need to fret," Sasuke added with a slight smile. "I just asked her about her family and friends, that's all."

Sarada eyed both her father and her best purple-haired friend. She then leaned close to Sumire and whispered in her ear, "Why did you say that? I was just making sure he wouldn't put you on the spot like last time."

"I don't want you two to argue over me," Sumire whispered back. "It's not worth it."

Sakura interjected, sensing the awkwardness that fell upon the table. "Honey, how was your training earlier today?"

Sarada looked at her mother's well-timed change of topics, nodded and began to share to the table. "I learned a lot, especially with differing perspectives. Dad and Lord Seventh were debating again on the best way to teach me, so that I can become the best Hokage I can be. They even had a short sparring match to prove to me who I should believe, but naturally they went to a draw."

Sakura chuckled, reminiscing about all the times in the past when the two of them would fight over who was the better shinobi, or who was right philosophically. They sometimes went overboard and tried to kill each other on multiple occasions, but it was great to realize just how much they matured since then, including her as well. "It only shows how much respect and trust that your father and your uncle Naruto have for each other. It's the kind of respect and trust only born from a bitter rivalry that grew into an even better friendship."

Sasuke smiled while eating and listening to his wife's reflection, and Sarada nodded in agreement. Suddenly, a bright flash and a loud thunderclap startled the girls, quickly followed by someone loudly knocking on the door, which equally startled them as well.

"I'll get it." Sakura stood up from her chair and rushed to the door. When she opened it, she exclaimed in shock, "Namida! You poor thing, come inside quickly!"

The other girls quickly stood up to greet Namida, but found her in a bad shape. She was shivering badly, drenched from head to toe from the downpour. Her doused hazelnut hair was now covering most of her face. All her clothes were dripping wet, and the floor of the Uchiha house was quickly becoming soaked.

Sumire also observed that Namida was pulling along two large luggage suitcases and carrying two soaked backpacks, one on the front and one on the back. As she helped bring in Namida's things inside, she asked her teammate, "Why are you bringing those along with you? Isn't this too much to bring to our mission?"

Wasabi brushed Namida's hair aside and looked intently at Namida's face. She saw familiar trails of water down her cheeks, unique trails that could not have been made from rain, but from tears. She glanced at how much of her things she had brought, and the truth of what happened hit Wasabi. "No… you didn't…" muttered Wasabi under her breath.

She then looked at Sakura. "Aunt Sakura, would it be okay if we brought her up to Sarada's room? She should take a bath and change her clothes, and then eat dinner."

"Yes it's perfectly fine," Sakura responded with a warm, radiant smile.

"I'm… fine…" Namida refused with her shivering voice. "I'll… be okay."

Sakura turned to the soaked brunette. "Please get yourself warm and comfortable, Namida. We don't want you getting sick the night before your big mission, do we?"

Before Namida could protest, the four other girls grabbed her, pushing and pulling her along up the stairs and into Sarada's room, shutting the door behind them. The moment the door closed, Namida fell to her butt and inconsolably burst into tears, as she was not able to hold back her emotions any longer.

"Namida…" Sarada consoled her as she helped her soaking wet, crying friend up to her mattress, "what happened?"

As the others stood around her, Wasabi knelt down directly in front of her, gently caressing her cheek and neck. "Why did you do it? I thought we settled this already?"

Confused, Sumire asked for an elaboration. "What are you talking about, Wasabi?"

Wasabi sighed and sat down beside Namida to face the other three. "Unless I'm horribly mistaken," she explained while putting her arm around her Namida's shoulders, "Namida had just came out to her parents." A loud cry from Namida confirmed Wasabi's theory.

"Wait a minute," Chocho clarified, "aren't your parents homophobic?"

Namida did not respond, so Wasabi nodded and answered for her girlfriend. "That's why I pleaded with you not to tell your parents about yourself, or about us. I'm perfectly fine with not being known and acknowledged by your family."

"I was just…" Namida reasoned between her gasps for air, "…thinking… if ever I die… I should at least… tell them the truth…"

"None of us are dying on this mission," Sarada firmly asserted, "or in this war. Not under my watch."

"How… can you be so sure? After all, this is war…"

Sarada wanted to reply by reassuring her, but now she could not think of any adequate or reasonable thing to say. _"She is right," _Sarada thought to herself. _"I can't directly take care for everyone, nor can I control every single thing that will happen… But I will do all that I can."_

"But Namida," Chocho continued to prod, "why did you bring so much of your things with you?"

Wasabi spoke up instead; she was looking pissed off by Chocho's line of questioning. "You don't need to ask that," Wasabi told Chocho off bluntly. "You can put two and two together, can't you?"

"It's okay, Wasabi…" Wasabi felt Namida's soft and wet palm on her arm. "Please don't fight… I know that you've… figured it out, Wasabi. You… know me like the palm of your own hand." She then turned to the other three. "I can… tell them what happened."

Namida then tried to compose herself as best she could. "I came out to my parents as lesbian," Namida continued her story. "I told them about my relationship with Wasabi… On one hand, my mom refused to accept it. She said my homosexuality is a horrible disease and that we should treat it immediately. I tried to reason with her otherwise, that what she said is a very old way of thinking that she should move on from. She didn't listen, of course. But my dad, on the other hand, he… he… he told me the truth… about my birth…"

Sumire asked, "What do you mean? What about your birth?"

Namida swallowed, as not sure how to phrase it to her friends. "I'm… I'm not really… their daughter…"

Everyone, even including Wasabi, reacted in shock and confusion. "Dad said that… I was abandoned… as a baby on their doorstep… almost fifteen years ago…" Namida started to lose her composure again. "He then told me that… he never thought of me as his real daughter…"

"That actually explains why you don't look like either of your parents," Wasabi noted. "You have light brown hair and hazel brown eyes, which your mother, father, or even your grandparents don't have."

Namida nodded to Wasabi and her theory, then went on. "My dad is no longer willing to give me my inheritance, since I won't be giving them any… biological grandchildren… and he added that he… wouldn't recognize any children… that I'd adopt with Wasabi anyway… My dad disowned me… and my mom agreed with him… They kicked me out of the house… told me never to come back… and to never let them see my face again…"

After a long pause to gasp for her breath, Namida continued, "I packed up my things as… as quickly as I could… I couldn't bear to stay there any longer… Once I packed all of my things up, I… ran down the stairs and out the door… I never looked back at my parents' faces… but I did look back at my house one last time… I hyper-screamed as hard, as loud, as I could… I think I broke all the glass there… hopefully their eardrums as well…"

Wasabi quickly enveloped her in a hug, silently reassuring her that she was with her through all this. "It's okay… Remember that my parents accept you. You're practically part of our family now."

"I'm not sure if this will help make you feel better," Chocho attempted to console her while giving her a pack of chips, which Sarada noted that she had gotten from her desk. "But I once thought, maybe a few years ago, that my father wasn't my real father. It turned out I was horribly mistaken, and that he was actually my father. Remember that, Sarada?"

Sarada nodded and rolled her eyes playfully. "I do remember you thinking Uncle Choji wasn't your real father… though I'd like to remember it more as the time I first saw and met my own father… And the time when he almost killed me…"

Wasabi tilted her head, confused. "Uncle Sasuke nearly killed you? What happened? How even?"

Sarada laughed it off. "It was just a misunderstanding. I told Sumire about this already during our joint counseling session with her psychologist. My dad didn't even recognize me at first, and so he was preparing to kill me, thinking I was one of those Shin clones out to get him."

"Still," Sarada continued, "imagine that. For eleven years, I never had a dad in my life, and the first day I ever see him, he didn't even recognize me as his only daughter. Up until a few years ago, he rarely came home, and much less stayed at home for a week. It's like I had a single mom, and a dad who only came around every few months or years."

"You do have it… much harder than I do," Namida admitted.

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Sarada assured her. "Your situation is really tough as well. I think all of us have our own parental issues. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that while we don't choose our parents and our family, they don't define who we are, and who we will be."

The last few words Sarada spoke echoed in Sumire's head. _"I don't quite think that's the case,"_ Sumire thought to herself while putting her head down. _"Not for me, at least."_

Though it was against her will, Sumire began to relive her dark memories, however hard she tried to keep it to herself to not further sour everyone's mood. Memories related to her never wanting her father to be near her. Memories related to him torturing her and abusing her in as many ways as he could. Memories related to him trying to suppress and rid her of her emotions altogether. Memories related to him trying to mold her in his own image.

After quite a long time of staring a hole into Sarada's floor, Sumire was able to restrain her past from further affecting her present. She shook her head, and hoped that nobody noticed, but as she lifted her head, she looked straight into Sarada's knowing eyes.

"Namida," Wasabi suggested, "how about we dress you up in some dry, comfy clothes, then we go down to eat dinner? Is that okay with you?"

Namida nodded to her girlfriend's request, and the two of them went to Sarada's bathroom to fix up. It only took five minutes for them to freshen up and go downstairs to have dinner, which Sarada exasperatedly noted was approximately equal to the time it took for Chocho to eat all the snacks that she prepared. Still not satisfied after devouring all of Sarada's potato chips and corn chips, Chocho went downstairs along with the two lovebirds to ask her Aunt Sakura if there was more food that she could eat. "I need a lot of energy to maintain my beautiful form for our coming mission," Sarada and Sumire heard her reasoning with pride downstairs, much to their laughter.

Sarada then lied down on her bed, her hands behind her head. "Now that we're alone," she began, "don't think I didn't see you sulking a while ago, Sumire. Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?"

Sumire plopped down beside her, supine on Sarada's soft mattress, before paraphrasing her words. "It's just what you said: _'Who our parents are, or who our family is, doesn't define who we are and who we will be'._ I'm not quite sure if you're correct there, or if most people would agree with you. So many people in Konoha believe that I'm evil… solely on who my father was, and what he did with the Root and Danzo against Konoha. And don't get me wrong; he truly was an evil man."

As Sarada listened to her problem, Sumire elaborated her current thoughts further. "I really wish that Tanuki wasn't my father. I don't have any family left… I mean, biological relatives at least, since I think of you and the rest of our group as pretty much my family now. Still, because of that, I can't help but think of my father sometimes. What would he think of me? Would he be proud of the person I've become?"

"Personally," Sumire gave her own opinion to her own question, "I think that to him, I really am a complete failure… for not being able to destroy Nue, myself, and Konoha when I was younger, like what intended for us to do. All he wanted to achieve, even after his own death, was that his own flesh and blood would be the one to avenge him, and bring about the final downfall of Konoha from within. Not only did I go against his will and prevent Konoha's destruction; I eventually became a kunoichi of Konoha, and I've served Konoha for five years… After I helped defend Konoha during the Kara attacks a few weeks ago, perhaps he now views me as a traitor… as a stain to his lineage and his legacy…"

Sarada thought back to what Namida's words a few minutes before. _"She really does have it way harder than I do," _Sarada introspected._ "At least my father used to do everything he did for me… so that I could live a better life. He didn't want to kill me, nor did he ever abuse me… And he wants me to succeed and become Hokage in the future, not go on some futile suicide mission just for his own sick goals to be accomplished."_

Then, she remembered what Naruto and Shikamaru had told her during one of their recent Hokage-preparation sessions, which she then repeated to Sumire. "Good parents never judge their own children or compare them to other children," Sarada reminded Sumire. "The old generation sometimes regards the new generation unfairly, based on their own perspectives on how things should be, and on how things used to be in their own time."

Sumire looked up to her with a slight smirk of a smile. "Hmm… Did you hear that from Lord Seventh?"

"How did you know?" Sarada chuckled. "Was it that obvious?"

"No, just a hunch. There's no one around that's more inspirational than the Seventh Hokage himself."

Both of the girls giggled and shared a hi-five. Sarada went back on course, "Instead of your father, how about you remember your mother? You've told me about how she was always kind and caring to you, up until her death. Think about how she would love to see you now: A happy, independent, responsible, caring person, and a leader who always puts others before herself. I don't know about you, but I'm sure she would be proud of the person you've become."

"I guess you're right about that," Sumire relented.

*******XXXXXXX*******

The thunderstorm and the rains it brought had come and gone over an hour ago, and now a serene silence echoed through the city. The five girls were staying on the overhanging balcony outside Sarada's room, sharing stories with one another. Suddenly, a voice came from the street below.

"Hey girls! What are you doing up there?"

The five close friends saw a very familiar face passing by and waving towards them. It was a girl in black gothic clothes, with a pink doll strapped around her back like a backpack.

Chocho squinted her eyes. "Is that Hako?"

"Yes it is!" Sarada then yelled back to the gothic kunoichi, "Hey Hako! We're having a sleepover before our big mission! How about you?"

"Hold on," Hako replied as she unstrapped her doll from her back. "Tokenagi, bring me up there with them, please?"

"Of course, Hako, as you wish." The pink doll spoke in a unique, squeaky voice that the five kunoichi on Sarada's balcony all found to be cute. Then, it drastically expanded its size. The five on the balcony were surprised, as they had not yet seen Hako use her doll like this, nor have they ever heard it speak before. It grew so big and tall that from the ground to the top of its head would measure around 8 feet in height, and if its arms were fully outstretched upwards, its hands would almost certainly reach the lowest part of the roof of Sarada's house.

Hako clambered onto her doll's back and shoulders, as if to ride him, and then walked onto the balcony ledge with an assist from her now-huge pink doll's lifted arms. "I was heading home from our team meeting. We had bought all the supplies that we should need, and we were ready for the deployment tomorrow. But then Sai-sensei informed Renga, Houki, and I, that he wouldn't be able to go with us to Mount Tirad."

"Ohh yes, I heard about that," Sarada filled the other girls in. "Lord Seventh said that he needs Uncle Sai to coordinate all the communications and operations between the Shinobi Union's member nations and armies, including us."

Hako nodded. "So instead of Sai-sensei, another jonin named Shizuka will be substituting for him. He'll be leading us only for this mission… Have any of you ever met him?"

"No…" The others girls shook their heads.

"You want to join us for a while?" Sumire asked her former classmate.

"I could stay for a bit," Hako nodded in thanks. "But I'd like to be home by 11. We have some long days ahead of us, and I'd like to get every minute of sleep I can still have."

Sarada nodded, then looked at her clock. "It's 10:45 right now. We have some time."

"How's your team feeling about tomorrow?" Namida asked Hako.

"Personally, I'm pretty nervous about it. My two teammates, Renga and Houki, on the other hand, are excited though." She shook her head in obvious disapproval. "I really don't think war is something people should be excited about."

"Maybe they're more excited about being able to go to the Land of Rain?" Sarada suggested another possible reason for the boys' excitement. "I mean, they're going to see the city of Ame and the Mile-High Mountains for the first time."

"I know they're just waiting the fighting to break out, much more than the sightseeing," Hako sadly insisted. "Ugh, those boys and their irrational love for violence. I hope those two don't do anything stupid, or cause something bad to start."

"By the way," Chocho asked, "how are you able to do that to your doll? How are you able to command it and enlarge it?"

"You mean Tokenagi?" Hako clarified, and Chocho nodded. Hako gestured to her pink doll, which was sitting in Sarada's front yard. "Come up here, Tokenagi."

"Okay!" Her doll obeyed and grabbed hold of the ledge with its outstretched arms. As it catapulted itself over the metal railing, it also shrunk in mid-air back down to its normal size, and it landed right on Hako's lap.

"I can also make him fight beside me," the gothic kunoichi added, "and let me ride on its back."

"Wow," Wasabi exclaimed. "How? Is it like a puppet?"

"I'm no puppet!" Tokenagi retorted with some sass.

"It's a 'he'," Hako explained, "not an 'it'. And I don't control him with chakra strings like how puppeteers would. I just tell him what to do, and he just listens to me…"

"So your doll… Tokenagi… He's a sentient being?" Sumire analyzed. "It's alive and has a mind of its own?"

"I sure am!" Tokenagi leapt from Hako's lap and clambered up onto Sumire. "And don't you forget it!"

Sumire thought internally, _"He's so cute…"_

Sarada crossed her arms and looked at Tokenagi. "I want to see what this doll of yours can do."

"Is that a challenge?" Tokenagi started levitating off the balcony floor.

"Huh? Whaaa-"

Tokenagi expanded its head and mouth, puffed out its stomach, then suddenly leaned forward. It swallowed Sarada's head down to her neck and shoulders, and munched down on her with its non-existent teeth, such that it more resembled sucking. Sarada yelped and panicked for a short time, while her friends stared at what was happening and laughed vociferously.

_"__GET! OFF! MEEE!"_ Sarada shouted, her voice being distorted by the bubbly body of Tokenagi. She tried to pull the doll off her head with her arms, but it stretched elastically whenever she pulled and contracted when she stopped pulling. Anchored onto her neck, Tokenagi would not budge.

"Tokenagi! Please stop…"

The doll looked to its owner, Hako, who was flushed red in embarrassment. It quickly obeyed and let go of Sarada's who pulled him off of her. Tokenagi kept chuckling as it returned to Hako, who quickly stood up. "I'm really sorry about that, Sarada…"

Sarada merely stared at her blank-faced.

"I… umm… I think I should go now… It's almost 11, and my house is around 5… or 7… minutes away. Good night! Se you guys tomorrow!"

"Bye Hako! See you tomorrow!" The members of Team 15 waved goodbye in unison as Hako hurriedly clambered onto her enlarged doll. She rode on his shoulders as Tokenagi jumped across rooftops to take a shortcut back to their home. Meanwhile, Chocho crept up to a flustered Sarada.

"So… How did it feel getting sucked?" Chocho asked her with a wink.

"It was nothing of that sort!"

After some more minutes of endless giggling over what had just occurred, the five girls reentered Sarada's room and finally began to settle down into their mattresses. Sumire and Sarada were going to sleep on Sarada's raised wooden bedframe, while Wasabi and Namida joined their mattresses together on the floor. Chocho had one whole mattress to herself.

"We still have to wake up a bit early tomorrow," Sumire reminded the other four in a voice that reminded everyone of her past role as the caring, motherly class representative. "It's already 11. We should go get some rest."

"Yes my class rep," Sarada teased her in jest. "Alright girls, you heard her. Time to go to sleep."

"Good night guys," Chocho added as she pulled the blanket over her head. "See you all in the morning."

Wasabi and Namida walked to the window. "We'll go outside for a while. Be back in a bit."

"Sure," Sarada responded. "Just make sure to close the window when you go out and when you come back in. The mosquitos might fly in and all get attracted to Chocho."

Chocho huffed and shifted towards them from her bed. "You know that I don't fall asleep that fast," she deadpanned, "right?"

"Will do, Sarada," Wasabi noted with a slight snicker. "By the way, would it be okay with you if Namida left her things here at your house while we're on our mission? She doesn't have anywhere else to go, and we won't have time tomorrow to transfer all of her things over to my house."

Sarada immediately agreed to it. "I'm okay with that. Just leave it here for the next two weeks… And Namida, I hope your family situation gets resolved sooner or later."

Namida thanked her, and she and Wasabi climbed out from the window and onto the red roof of Sarada's house. Sumire flipped the switch for the room's light bulbs off, and the only thing that was left illuminating the room was the moonlight coming in through the window.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Wasabi leaned back onto the sloped red tiles of the roof, with Namida resting her head on Wasabi's stomach. While the two were gazing at the clear night sky, Wasabi caressed her lover's soft hair, which they had let down from its normal pigtails to help it dry out better. "I'm remembering… the time we got together," Namida began.

Wasabi glanced at Namida, who was beaming at the memory she had just brought up. "The night we both found out that we were secretly in love with each other…"

"It's been around a year and a half since then…"

Wasabi smiled. "It was on a night just like this too, if I recall correctly. It had just finished raining as well."

Namida sighed softly. "I still remember how Sumire and Sarada baited Chocho out of Sumire's room with promises of fresh food… how we were left beside each other, alone sitting on Sumire's bed… how our hands slowly inched towards one another… and that moment when our fingers touched… then intertwined…" Namida shuddered in glee. "I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life."

"You're forgetting the best part," Wasabi mock-protested. "After we clasped our hands together, you hugged me and started crying on my shoulder. And then… I lifted your chin… and I kissed you for the first time."

Namida pulled her arms to her chest and shook side to side with romantic excitement, and Wasabi snickered at her reaction, which she found really cute. "I think you cried even harder after I first kissed you."

"I DID NOT!" Namida stuck her tongue out in response. "Though I was emotional when you did. That really was the happiest moment of my life, up until then."

"The thing I find most memorable about it," Wasabi reflected, "was that we didn't confess to each other through words, but through our actions. It wasn't cliché, unlike what you'd see on most movies or soap operas."

"I was going to tell you 'I love you' after we broke the kiss, but then Chocho barged back in and congratulated us for getting together. The other two also joined in the group hug and said they were happy for us. So we only got to properly say 'I love you' when we were going to sleep."

"I had asked Sarada and Sumire to keep Chocho from messing with us or spying on us, but she just overpowered them," Wasabi revealed. "I mean, she was dragging Sumire and Sarada along, and they were hanging onto her legs… You know her love for drama and soap opera. Those are the only things that rival her love for food."

Namida laughed as hard as she could. "Yeah… she really can't keep her nose out of other people's private business. And she could sound a bit insensitive sometimes. But despite that, she's really kind and empathetic, so I don't hate her for it. That's just our Chocho."

"I'm not disputing that," clarified Wasabi, who looked back up at the sky. The stars were coming out from behind the clouds, and the moon shone brightly over the eastern sky. "I just hope this war ends quickly. If it doesn't, a lot of innocent people are going to get caught up in the middle of all this."

"Same. I hope that what Lord Hokage told us was true during the mission briefing, that it would be a mostly reconnaissance mission and that we shouldn't see any real active combat. I really hope that we'll all stay safe, and that none of us get hurt."

"If Lord Seventh says it's going to be safe," Wasabi tried to assure her, "it will be safe. He won't lie to us." Namida nodded, and the two returned to stargazing for a while.

Namida shifted position to be side-by-side with Wasabi. "Wasabi," she ended the silence that had grown around them, "thank you… and thanks to your parents… for accepting me."

Wasabi smiled. "You'll always be part of our family, Namida. Now and forever…" Namida closed the gap and shared a long, loving, passionate, emotional kiss with Wasabi, one that was only broken after more or less three minutes for much-needed breath.

"We better go to sleep now," Wasabi reminded Namida. "We have a long day tomorrow, and a long mission ahead."

Namida agreed and took one last look at the beautiful night sky, which had all but cleared up. The stars were out in force, and she could see all her favorite stars and constellations. "I'm hoping the view for stargazing would be better up there at Mount Tirad. It would be a shame to be deployed there for a full week yet not have a good view of our stars."

Wasabi thought about it. "There's no light pollution on the mountain… Yeah, the view it should be so much better over there."

The two climbed down the roof and back into the room, making sure to shut the window behind them as Sarada had asked. They lied down on their shared mattress preparing to sleep, but then they heard a somewhat stressed grunt from Sumire, who was sleeping next to Sarada.

"Sumire," Wasabi worriedly asked as she turned towards her, "you're still awake? It's already past midnight."

Sumire slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Yes, I just can't sleep. And you two are still awake?"

"We just finished our chat," Namida told her friend. An idea then popped into her head. "If you're having a hard time sleeping, I could try something out…"

"Oh wait, hold on," Wasabi figured out what she was going to do, immediately lying down and getting into her normal sleeping position. "Last time you did this to me, Namida, I fell asleep while leaning forwards. I woke up and my body was sore everywhere! I'll just get into my position here…"

Namida laughed softly, trying not to disturb Chocho and Sarada who were fast asleep. "You do know that I can focus the effect to only one person," Namida raised her eyebrow. "Unless you don't want to fall asleep right now."

"Actually," Wasabi recanted and kissed Namida on the cheek, "on second thought, please make it affect me too. I need every minute of sleep I can get. Thanks love!"

Sumire was puzzled. "Hold on, what exactly are you going to do?"

"Just something I learned from Orochimaru during my time with him," Namida replied. "Don't worry, it's nothing terrible. It'll just help you sleep."

"Go on then," Sumire allowed her. With both Wasabi's and Sumire's permission, Namida cleared up her throat and took a deep breath.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Still very much wide-awake, Sakura was lying on her bed beside Sasuke. She had been keeping track of what the girls were doing in the other room with her chakra sensory skills, simply wanting to make sure that they weren't doing anything that could jeopardize their upcoming mission. When the girls began to settle down into bed, she resolved to keep tracking them for only one minute more before going to sleep herself, but then two of the girls, whom she recognized as Wasabi and Namida, piqued her interest when they climbed out the window and scampered onto the roof.

_"__What are they doing?" _Sakura wondered to herself as they stayed there looking upwards at the night sky.

After around an hour of them staying up there, Sakura worried that they had fallen asleep right there on the roof, and was thinking of climbing up there herself and waking them up. Before anything else happened, they shifted positions, and then shortly afterwards Sakura felt a connection, a distinct melding of the two different chakra signatures.

A connection she herself was familiar with. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke, the man she had fallen in love with and had spent most of her adult life longing after. Just a while ago, before going to bed, she felt a similar melding of their two chakras. She knew in her heart what had happened up on her roof. _That melding of chakra that could only mean one thing… they kissed," Sakura inwardly told herself. "Either that, or they're having sex, but I doubt they would do something that brazen on an exposed rooftop… and without any accompanying noise. So scratch that possibility out…"_

As the chakra signatures separated once again and wandered back into Sarada's room, Sakura returned to her thoughts. _"So Wasabi,"_ Sakura reflected on Wasabi,_ "you're actually a lesbian… so that's why you were so worried about Namida. That's a bit of surprising news to me…"_ Sakura genuinely smiled. _"Not that it matters in the slightest bit to me. I don't really care about that. You're still my favorite student, and you keep making me proud with your medical skills."_

Her thoughts were interrupted by soft but audible voices from the other room. Sakura tried to listen in on what the voices were talking about, and then she heard the sweetest voice singing a mysterious melody.

_"__Tue Rei Ze Croa Riou Tue Ze…"_

The moment the tune ended, Sakura felt drowsy. All her thoughts left her, and only peace and quiet was left in her mind. She fell asleep immediately afterwards.

* * *

_**So in this chapter, we had lots of Sarada and Sumire interactions, a dive into Sumire's current mental state (I'm sure an entire city turning on you [for something you're not, no less] has to mess you up, one way or another, no matter who you are), plus the sleepover at Sarada's house, plus a ton of Wasabi and Namida (including how they got together!), PLUS Hako's debut in the story! **_

_**How did you like the chapter? Comment down below your thoughts! Sumire's mental illness/distress, Sarada being the best friend ever, the sleepover, Chocho vs Sasuke jkjk, Namida opening up to her parents and the very sad result, Hako's doll, Wasabi and Namida being so adorable together, and Namida's First Fonic Hymn? **_

_*****__**Important Note: In Fonic Hymns, Rei = Do, Ze = Re, Riou = Mi, Tue = So, Croa = Fa, Neu = La, Va = Ti, Rei = Do... =D (Anyone see the Tales of the Abyss sort-of crossover here? ;) I'm sure KoppieHart and others would love this, hehehe ^_^) **_**_Also, that means you can sing along, or at least imagine how Namida/Tear Grants in Tales of the Abyss sing it =)_**

_**Anyway, the next chapter, Chapter 16: "A Guiding Light", will mark the start of "The Passes of Mount Tirad" arc! The Fifth Great Ninja War is looming large, and it seems all but inevitable! Boruto and his friends will be sent to the Land of Rain, specifically Mount Tirad, the tallest mountain in the Land of Rain, to spy on the movements of the Earth Army towards the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain.**_

_**On the other hand, Chapter 17: "Seeking Refuge In The Rain" deals a lot with a certain character that Teams 7 and 10 know from the Land of Earth, having met him or her several years during a certain coup attempt... no spoilers, but slightly divergent from the canon here ;)**_

_**Trivia: The night where Wasabi and Namida got together was based on how two of my friends in my high school got together (it was just as sweet in real life ^_^ ; also yes, the two of them were both guys XD)**_


	16. A Guiding Light

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter of a Tale of Grace! I'm hoping that you all still enjoy this story! Thank you all for being so loyal and supportive! In return, I do my best to write as good a story as I can. Feel free to leave reviews/comments and kudos/faves/follows hehee ^_^**

**Personal Life Update: My CE 27 exam went as well as could be expected, because it was still quite hard :'(**

**I'm sure of 16 out of 30 items, and I need 18/30 (60%) to pass the subject. Here's to hoping luck is on my side hahaha huhuhu XD (still, please pray for me too hehehe thanks =D)**

* * *

**Chapter 16: A Guiding Light**

Near the gates of Konoha, the five kunoichi from last night's sleepover gathered at 5:45 am sharp, since Sarada and Sumire had recommended last night that they should assemble early. Chocho sat down and leaned on the wall to get more minutes of sleep, even covering her face with an orange towel to block out the light. Meanwhile, Wasabi and Namida walked to a nearby takoyaki stall to have some food in their bellies before their long march to the Land of Rain. Sarada stayed by the entrance while waiting for her other friends to show up, and Sumire climbed on top of the wall to have a clearer view of their calm, serene, beautiful surroundings. As she sat on top of the wall, she witnessed the first colors of the dawning sky, the stars slowly beginning to fade and disappear, and finally the sun rising over the horizon, with the moon still resolutely holding its ground half the sky away.

"Sarada! Sumire!" The two girls saw Boruto and Mitsuki running towards them. Both were carrying medium-sized backpacks, with Mitsuki additionally holding a huge Thunder Burger paper bag with both hands, and the two of them were eating cheeseburgers from their favorite restaurant.

"Looks like someone's excited," Sarada quipped as her two teammates put down their bags beside her. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Boruto replied enthusiastically with his trademark smile and thumbs-up pose.

Sumire jumped down from the wall to greet him as well. "Good morning Boruto-kun. I didn't know Thunder Burger was open at this time."

"I told them that we'll be gone for a long mission," Boruto told them, "so they stayed open last night so we could order everyone lots of burgers."

Mitsuki got two cheeseburgers from the bag and offered them to the two girls. "You two want some?"

Sarada and Sumire both accepted the offer and got one burger each. "Just make sure to hide them from you-know-who," Sarada reminded the two while teasing her best friend, "or no one else is going to have any more burgers left to eat."

"I can hear you guys," Chocho revealed to a surprised Boruto that she was aware of the things happening around her. She pulled the towel off of her face. "I didn't need sleep, I just needed shut-eye." She then pouted at Sarada. "Why did you make us wake up at 4:30 in the morning? That's way too early. This is not good at all for my beauty sleep and my smooth skin."

The others laughed except Mitsuki, who all of a sudden started rubbing Chocho's exposed arms. "I think I can help with your skin."

"Mitsuki… umm…" Sumire awkwardly pointed out, "I don't think massages work that way…"

"Yeah," Sarada added, with a slight hint of disappointment, "they're good for the muscles and joints, but they don't really have an effect on skin. Besides, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Chocho's skin."

"Hey!" Chocho snapped back at them. "Mitsuki is just being a gentleman here! And I'm enjoying my free massage- AHH there! Please Mitsuki, my shoulder and neck are hurting, so please focus your pressure there, thanks! So don't you guys dare interfere."

"Hey Cho…Cho…" Shikadai, Inojin, and Ryogi greeted as they arrived along with Temari, Sai, and Ino, who all came to see them off.

Inojin continued with an obviously smutty double entendre, "Why are you making Mitsuki rub you off in public?"

"YOU," Chocho glared, "ZIP IT!"

"Okay…" Inojin's confused face turned into a face filled with mock-judgment and disappointment, and he walked away sighing and shaking his head. In compensation, Boruto took over handing out burgers to Shikadai, Ryogi, and a shaken Inojin. Wasabi and Namida returned with two sticks of takoyaki balls apiece.

"Since you two already have takoyaki, I'm assuming you aren't interested in burgers now," Boruto said to the two girls, who both nodded.

"Thanks anyway," Namida smiled. "Though maybe we could eat them later for lunch? That way we won't waste our food just yet."

"Good idea," Wasabi concurred and grabbed two burgers from Mitsuki's bag. She then took one look at Mitsuki giving Chocho a relaxing massage and whispered to Sarada, "What's happening?"

Sarada shook her head in response. "Don't ask…"

"Hey squad!" The nine turned around from the uninspiring spectacle of Mitsuki's massaging Chocho to see Hako waving at them. Hako, wearing her usual black clothes and dark grey ribbon, was riding her enlarged pink doll, Tokenagi, who was also waving at the group in sync with Hako. Right beside her were her friends from Team 25. Houki, still wearing the facemask and forehead protector Kakashi-style in veneration of his idol, flashed a peace sign, while Renga saluted the others as well.

Houki asked, "Has anyone seen our senseis?"

Sarada replied, "None of them are here yet. They're probably in a briefing with Lord Seventh regarding our mission."

"Team 40's here as well," Doshu announced as he tipped his green beret to the others, while Enko and Tsuru waved along.

"Am I the only one who's really nervous about all of this," Enko inquired among the group already present. Most of the other girls shook their heads, meaning that they too were nervous about this mission.

"Nope," Namida responded. "I'm scared too, but this is the mission we were assigned by Lord Hokage himself, so we'll see this through."

"That's right," Sarada confirmed. "But none of us need to be worried. We won't be seeing any real fighting, since most of the Earth army is apparently preparing to attack Kusa in The Land of Grass. Also, we'll have our senseis with us, and if my father told me the truth, Kakashi is going to be our Squadron Leader."

The whole group gasped. "Kakashi-sensei is coming with us?" Boruto asked incredulously. "Well then, there's no way that we'll even be attacked! They'll all be afraid of him. He's a war hero after all."

"I don't think that's a guarantee," Shikadai played devil's advocate. "Everyone now knows that he lost his Sharingan at the end of the last war, and he has gotten older…"

"But he's still extremely powerful, and he's even more intelligent now," Ryogi countered. "It should balance out. He'll be a great squadron leader."

"You're all leaving out the fact that he has great leadership skills," Sarada reminded them. "After all, he was the leader of the greatest team in history, the former Team 7, and he's a wonderful teacher as well."

Most of the group agreed with Sarada's statement. They all still remembered Kakashi being their graduation instructor a few years ago, and the stories they had heard about his achievements, trials, and tribulations in both the Third and Fourth Great Ninja Wars. To have him leading them, with the major possibility of the Fifth Great Ninja War breaking out, was a huge and welcome relief to them.

"Even still," Shikadai sighed, "I still can't deny that I'm apprehensive about all this. This is war. This is real life, not a video game. We can't simply restart from the last save point if we get killed. We shouldn't be too carefree and optimistic about it. We have to be careful-"

"Guys! You ready for an adventure?" Denki greeted his friends as he came running up to them. Shikadai put his palm to his face; of course it had to be right after his spiel of not being carefree. Behind him were Iwabe and Metal, along with a Kaminarimon employee who was carrying Denki's large bag filled with storage scrolls, which themselves stored cameras, telescopes, construction tools, and scientific tools.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that," Boruto remarked, "but yeah, we're ready!"

Iwabe added, "We're going to make an impregnable fortress up there. Those Land of Earth soldiers better not even try to attack us." The group erupted in laughter, thinking it was just normal Iwabe and his rash, infectious, braggadocios confidence.

Afterwards, things settled down somewhat, and Konoha started to come alive in the daytime. As the group waited for the senseis, they could see that soldiers from member nations in the Shinobi Union were amassing in front of the Hokage Mansion, and they were being addressed by Naruto himself. Once the preparations and the organization were completed, the Shinobi Union First Army began to march out through the west gate of Konoha. Traveling with the army was Shikamaru, who had been named by Naruto a few days ago as the General of the First Army.

"Stay safe Dad," Shikadai pleaded. "How long will you be at Kusa?"

"Umm… Dad?" Ryogi was still unsure if it was okay for him to call Shikamaru that word. "Please, take care. See you after all this is over?"

Shikamaru looked at his son Shikadai and his adopted son Ryogi with a smile. "I will. I'm optimistic that within a month or two, I'll be back home. Shikadai, you be careful on your mission too. And Ryogi, keep studying hard, so you can become a genin and have your own shinobi team. Both of you… make me so proud…"

He then turned to Temari, who was uncharacteristically close to tears. "Honey, don't worry about me."

"How can I not worry?" Temari countered and huffed in defeat. "But as Naruto said, you are the best possible commander for our soldiers. They'll rely on your strategic prowess and smart planning." Temari grasped Shikamaru's hand. "Please love… promise me you'll come back home to me."

"I promise, I will come home. I love you so much, Temari. And both of you too, Shikadai and Ryogi… my sons…"

"We love you too." Shikadai, Ryogi, and Temari went up to him and hugged him tightly. After their family hug, Shikamaru left and led the army to Kusa. As the last of the soldiers marched through the gates of Konoha, a familiar face passed by the group of eighteen shinobi.

"Akita!" Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Sumire all approached her. Akita noticed them and rushed towards them. "Just the people I was looking for! How have you guys been?"

"We've been okay," Sarada replied. "We're going on a reconnaissance mission to Mount Tirad, near Ame in The Land of Rain."

"Yes I heard. It's exactly the reason why I was looking for all of you. I have some things that could help out a lot on your mission." She set down on the ground a pack of scientific ninja weapons and tools that she had been carrying with her.

"I was planning to give some of you some sets of scientific ninja tools and weapons. Katasuke had made all of these before those Kara bastards killed him…" She sighed audibly. "I believe that he would have wanted you young shinobi to use them, and use them well. Go ahead, take a look and take what you like."

Being the first to pick, Boruto spotted and pulled out a set of Van Der Waals mountaineering gear. His eyes shone bright. "I remember you loving this technology when you came over to our lab in Ryutan," Akita mentioned with a smile. "So did Katasuke, so it's yours. It's waterproof, and it insulates against cold well." Boruto excitedly grabbed the set and stuffed it in his bag.

Next, Shikadai picked up binoculars, while Inojin held some scouting cameras. "The former can help you see across great distances," Akita explained, "while the latter can pick up and record any motion, even in the dark, so you can keep track of your target's movements."

"And you Denki," Akita noted, "I'm sure you have your laptop with you right now?"

"Yes ma'am, it's in my backpack."

"Like a true Kaminarimon, always adept at using technology. In any case, this is my gift to you." She handed Denki a USB. "It has the latest in cartography and mapping technology; you can input topographical, terrain, and environmental features into it and combine it all to make a comprehensive map."

As Denki was examining the USB and its contents, Metal chose and tried on four 20-kilogram Specialized Training Weights on his ankles and wrists. "These are really heavy…" he struggled to move back to his friends. "But I'll get used to them… as long as I… train with them more…"

"Just make sure to remove them while hiking," Akita told him. "You might not make it up the mountain, and if you slip, you'll be falling and tumbling down the mountainside like a rock."

Sarada then pulled out cans of healing foam, which Boruto remembered was the same substance that Sumire had used to heal his wounds on some occasions. The most memorable one she used it on him was the time he fell out of the sky as his flying drone malfunctioned and crashed. Seeing the cans of healing foam, Akita asked the group, "Aside from Sumire, is there anyone else who is a medic, or otherwise knows how to use this?"

"Sumire taught me how to use them," Sarada replied.

"And I'm a certified medic," Wasabi added.

"Good, I'll leave the healing foam to you three then. Sumire, if ever Wasabi has questions about when and how to use the foam, you teach her."

"Yes Akita," Sumire respectfully bowed to her former coworker, "I will make sure of it."

Seeing that there were only a few things left, and seeing that Naruto and the senseis were walking to them, Akita took over. "Do any of you still know how to use scrolls anymore? Or is that too outdated for you guys?"

The members of Team 25 all raised their hands at the same time. "Sai-sensei taught us how to use scrolls."

"Very well," Akita handed off several scrolls to the members of Team 25. "From these scrolls, you can summon traps and equipment such as varying types of explosive tags, landmines, sandbags, shovels, barbed wire, and bamboo stakes."

"Lastly, I have this." Akita began to pull something black out of the bag, but stopped short. She worried that none of them may have had any prior experience with this kind of advanced weapon. "Before I go any further, do any of you know how to use and take care of a gun?"

At first, nobody replied, but then Chocho nudged Sumire with her elbow and loudly asked. "You still have that big rifle gun thingy, right?"

"Hawawawa!" Sumire panicked and slapped her hands on Chocho's mouth to seal it shut. "Dammit, they're not supposed to know! I hid it from Katasuke and his staff for a purpose. I don't want it mass produced and sold to just about anyone."

Akita tilted her head. "Sumire, what are they talking about?"

Sumire bowed and hid her face in shame. "Akita, I'm sorry for not telling you. During the attack a few weeks ago, I had gotten a sniper rifle off of a dead Kara member-"

"Dying," Sarada corrected her. "You accidentally finished him off with his own weapon, remember?"

"Please, don't remind me of that," Sumire pouted. "That was one of the most gory things I've seen…"

Akita figured out what her former helper at the Ryutan lab was trying to say. "Sumire, it's alright if you didn't tell us about it. It's your gun now, after all. Though… I don't see it with you right now."

"It's actually in my backpack," Sumire replied. "It's just disassembled right now, so I can easily carry it. I'll reassemble it when we get there."

Akita nodded. "Just show it to me when you come back. And I promise I won't force you to let us study it. In any case, I'll give this to you." Akita pulled out a small black firearm with a long, slightly elongated magazine, and everyone looked closer at it.

"This is our lab's very first developed gun. We call it the Model G18c, and it's classified as a machine pistol. It is fully automatic, and can carry up to 33 rounds in its magazines. Katasuke and the other scientists had been working on this for a while, and we only finished it a few months ago; it hasn't even entered into mass production due to some legal issues."

Akita gently handed the gun over to Sumire, who held it with one hand and looked at it from different points of view. "That's all I have," Akita concluded. "I hope our scientific ninja tools and weapons can serve you well on your mission. I wish you all the best of luck." With that, she walked away, passing by Naruto, Kakashi, and the six senseis.

"In formation," shouted Konohamaru. The eighteen ninja quickly grouped themselves by their six teams, with their respective senseis in front of them. Kakashi walked by and inspected each team before giving Naruto the all clear to proceed on their mission.

"Now that you're all complete and ready," Naruto spoke semi-formally, "we will give one last briefing on your mission. Kakashi, the Sixth Hokage, will be the one to brief you on the specific details."

"Thank you Lord Seventh," Kakashi began. "Now all of you listen closely. We are assigned to Mount Tirad in the Mile-High Mountain Range of Ame, more specifically to the Hod and Feres mountain passes. The city of Kusa should be visible from there, as well as Earth territory. Our primary mission is to monitor and reconnoiter the movements of the Earth Army, while our secondary mission to that is to guard the passes of Mount Tirad, namely Hod Pass and Feres Pass, from intrusion from Iwa soldiers, as these are the lowest altitude passes over the Mile-High Mountain range separating the Land of Earth from the Land of Rain."

Kakashi continued, "It's highly unlikely that there will be much, if any, major fighting here, since they will also have to get past the highly-fortified city of Ame. This is the reason why the Shinobi Union army will be stationed near Kusa in the Land of Grass, as it is much less defensible. Our secondary mission was assigned to us mainly to ensure that a few saboteurs and scouts won't sneak behind our frontlines. In any case, Mount Tirad is within the territory of The Land of Rain, and to get there, we will need to go through the city of Ame. We will stay at the Iron Tower of the Amekage himself until we get confirmation from Konoha to proceed with our mission, so I expect you all to be on your best behavior there."

"Once we climb up Mount Tirad to the crest of the passes, we will set up our camp and lookout points there. Assisting us on this mission will be Shinki and his team from Suna, and Kagura and his friends from Kiri. They will make their own way to Mount Tirad separately. Does everyone understand our mission?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei!" The group said in unison.

Kakashi smiled. "So you all still remember me from your graduation. That's good to hear. Anyway, as some of you may have heard, I will be your squadron leader. And your team leaders will also be coming along, except for Team 25's Sai Yamanaka; Shizuka-sensei shall be his substitute for this mission. So all in all, we are a squad of twenty-five shinobi and kunoichi. And I expect twenty-five shinobi and kunoichi to come back home. Understand?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi nodded in approval to Naruto. "Good luck on your mission, Konoha Squadron. And know that all of Konoha is praying for your success." Afterwards, as the squad started walking, the families of the group arrived to send them off. Hinata and Naruto were near the gate, and Himawari was running about and hugging Boruto, Mitsuki, Sarada, Sumire, Chocho, and Inojin, who himself was being accosted by a worried Ino and an amused Sai.

Sakura and Sasuke were much further away from the other parents, but Sarada noticed them and waved goodbye as well. Meanwhile, Karui and Choji, who was still on a wheelchair while recovering from his wounds, were crying and squishing Chocho in their own family hug, not wanting to let her go on what they worried was a dangerous mission.

Temari and Ryogi stayed nearby after Shikamaru had left and gave Shikadai a hug, while Rock Lee shouted encouragement to Metal, who quickly felt nervous about all the attention thrown at him. Denki's father left his company building in time to tell Denki he loved him, and Iwabe's whole family gathered by the gates and blessed him with some water and sacred paper wands. Wasabi's parents stood by the wall, enveloped both Wasabi and Namida in a family hug, and gave them good luck kisses as they walked by.

_"__How I wish I could have a family sendoff like them,"_ Sumire longingly hoped for an instant, before brushing the thought out of her mind upon realizing that Mitsuki's family, Orochimaru and Log, did not appear either.

_"__And aside from that_," Sumire reflected_, "this group of people, especially Boruto-kun… Sarada, Himawari, Chocho, Wasabi, and Namida, had also become my family over the years… and I love all of them dearly… So ultimately, I'm still happy, as long as I'm with them."_

As the group passed through Konoha's gates, Boruto raised his fist. "A journey of a thousand miles… begins with a single step!"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Two whole days passed as the large group travelled on foot from Konoha to the border between the Lands of Fire and Rain. While the sun began to chase down the horizon, the fruit of their effort was becoming more and more visible. Thick black smoke rose into the air from a lot of buildings that looked to be factories, and the smoke mixed with the storm clouds above it and turned the dark grey clouds even darker. A bit farther from the industrial plants looked to be a sprawling suburban residential zone.

"Those black storm clouds and factories nearby are familiar," Kakashi reassured his squadron. "We're getting really close to The Land of Rain, and to Ame. Though even I didn't know that Ame had expanded to this extent."

"I don't know if I'm excited, or scared, or both," Boruto narrated to his teammates. "It's like a constant adrenaline rush, and I can't get over it." Inojin, Iwabe, Denki, and some other shinobi agreed.

"It's almost certainly our first taste of war," Shikadai calmly deduced. "I'm sure our parents felt it during the last Great Ninja War, and our grandparents in the Great War before that."

Wasabi sighed deeply. "Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world without these wars having to happen? They serve no purpose other than to sow death and chaos to the powerless and the poor caught in the midst, while only entrenching the powerful."

"You're wrong," Sarada commented. "In the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Lord Hokage and both of my parents fought off Kaguya Otsusuki in her quest to take over the entire world and convert everyone to her minions to fight off Momoshiki and the other Otsusukis. If we didn't resist, then we would be her mindless soldiers now."

"That seems to be the exception," Wasabi responded in the growing debate, "rather than the rule. The First, Second, and Third Great Ninja Wars, not to mention nearly every other war in our history, had been fought for land, greed, influence, glory, and power."

"You talk as if that's a bad thing," Sarada crossed her arms. "We should be thankful that the Land of Fire became so powerful and influential, or else who knows what the state of the world would be right now."

"But Wasabi's right with her history though," Denki seconded. "Every Great War aside from the last one was fought over land and influence."

"And through them all," Namida supported her girlfriend, "the five great nations are still in power, with all the other nations either left behind or forced around."

Wasabi tried to elaborate her side further. "Sarada, all I'm saying is that I hope these wars can be prevented in the future. Do we at least agree on that?"

"Yes," Sarada relented. "But not all wars are avoidable, nor should all wars be avoided. We still have to fight for what's right."

"But… how do you know for sure that you are on the right side?"

Meanwhile, instead of joining in the debate, Boruto, Iwabe, Shikadai, and most of the boys were exchanging war stories that they had been passed down by their parents and grandparents from the previous Great Ninja Wars. Some were stories centered around supposed glories achieved by victories in battle, while others were cautionary tales with horrific details, gruesome deaths, and losses of close friends and family members while fighting to reach the nonexistent glories and the true follies of war.

"Say Boruto," Iwabe asked, "Did your parents ever have any war stories to tell you?"

"Only a few," the Uzumaki replied. "Dad and Mom didn't like to talk about the war to us when we were kids, but when we got older they started talking to us about the fight against Obito, Madara, and Kaguya, as well as Uncle Neji's death protecting both of my parents."

"Obito Uchiha…" Sarada thought out loud.

Boruto turned at her. "Right, you're related to him."

Kakashi jumped in the conversation. "Obito was a good man, always well-meaning, but simply misled. He was my best friend, and we reconciled in the end, and that's what matters… Oh that reminds me, I heard you used one of his jutsus during Kara's attack? The one I had taught you."

Sarada smiled and nodded proudly. "Yes, the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, though I didn't use it to kill my opponent. I let him retreat from Konoha."

"I'm proud of you Sarada," Kakashi clarified, "but I don't necessarily expect you to. You told me that you idolize Naruto, and you want to emulate him, right? If that is truly what you want, then killing should only be last resort for you, and that shows more strength and restraint than power."

Sarada listened closely, for she highly respected Kakashi's opinion. "Remember Sarada," Kakashi concluded to her. "Diplomacy, negotiation, and showing empathy to others should always be prioritized over killing, violence, and war."

A short while after he finished talking to Sarada, as the group neared the border city, Kakashi felt raindrops falling on his grey hair. He looked up to see that the fringes of the dark clouds, which never seemed to move out of the area, were now directly above him. He felt rain pelt his face and his black facemask, and so he turned around to face the squadron he was in charge of. "Welcome to the Land of Rain."

"We've sort of been here before," Boruto remembered a past mission while rubbing his neck. "At least, Teams 7, 10, and 15 have been." He, along with everyone else, was starting to get soaked in the rain.

"Mitsuki," Chocho asked while posing sultrily, "do you happen to have an umbrella or raincoat?"

"No, Chocho. But I guess can extend and shape my arms into something like an umbrella."

"Please Mitsuki, be a gentleman and shield me from all this rain," Chocho insisted.

"But… why exactly? Everyone else is bearing the rain just fine. Isn't it unfair if only you remain dry?"

Impatient, and hating the feeling of being soaked by the rain, Chocho snapped. "JUST DO IT!"

"Mitsuki," Boruto whispered, "I think you should just obey her. You know how she is when she gets mad. All of us are going to feel it later."

"But why should I care? I'm not her slave. And you yourself told me that we should all believe in true gender equality."

"Mitsuki! Don't bring that up now-"

"You've really done it now!"

While Chocho raged at Mitsuki for disobeying her, Sumire began to remember the time in her childhood when she lived in Ame with her father. Without warning, she felt painful palpitations in her chest. She slowed down her pace, and this worried Namida and Wasabi, who were right beside her, but they kept up with the others. Soon enough, she trailed most of the group, with only Hanabi keeping behind her so that Sumire did not fall too far behind. Traumatic recollections flashed before Sumire's eyes, making her grimace and tremble. Walking under the cold downpour of Ame, bloody from the beatings her father gave her for failing to keep up with his strict and abusive training regimen, crying steady streams of tears from being blamed for her mother's death, and being berated for being a useless child who could not follow its parent's commands. Running away at night, with only the occasional lamppost illuminating the surrounding darkness, from her father and the fate he so desperately desired for her. Nue's Rampage from years past, her almost successful attempt at annihilating Konoha, and the lingering guilt she still felt because of it.

Her mind then moved onto more recent events, and she relived in her head the battle of Konoha, its aftermath, and the mob outside her apartment calling for her death. She remembered Gadon's words clearly: _"Her birth was a crime in itself! Her every breath is a crime, for which she must be punished for by death!" _In other words, living is a sin for her.

She remembered all her sufferings and asked herself a simple question. "What is the meaning of my birth?"

"What was that question for, Sumire?"

Sumire looked up to see her sensei's concerned face. "Hanabi-sensei! Umm, it's nothing-"

"No need to lie," Hanabi softly but sternly said. "Your frowning face, your pained expression, your entire body shaking, they're all telling me that something is bothering you."

Thankfully for Sumire, the group was stopped by the three city guards manning the checkpoint of the border-crossing road. "You must be the Konoha Squadron. Welcome to Marumi, the city of factories and the industrial capital of the Land of Rain."

"Wait," Boruto asked in confusion, "this isn't Ame?"

Kakashi's interest was now piqued. "I'd heard about the new cities in the Rain Nation before, but this is the first time I've been to one."

Denki spoke, "If I remember my geography correctly, The Land of Rain has three main cities now. Ame, in the center of the Land of Rain, is the political capital and residential-technological powerhouse. On the other hand, Yaman in the southeast is the economic and trade hub, while Marumi here in the east of the country is the main industrial city, with another municipality to the southwest close to becoming a city, Liwayway, the main tourist and resort town, on the shores of Ame Lake and close to the border with the Land of Wind."

"Impressive!" The guard chuckled and shared a fist bump with Denki. "You're mostly correct, except that Liwayway already became a city a few weeks ago. And how could you forget the town of Spur in the Mile-High Mountains? It's where I came from, and it's also close to city-status."

"Ohh right, Spur! The gateway town to the Mile-High Mountains, and the first step of anyone wanting to use the mountain passes or climb to the peaks of the mountains themselves."

"Yup, you're correct again! Anyway," the guard turned to Kakashi, "Ame is only about 20 minutes away by the lightning rail trains. The train station is near the middle of the city. You can't miss it… well, that's if the smog isn't too thick today."

"Thanks, and keep yourselves safe," Kakashi nodded rather respectfully to the guards, who quickly let them pass. "Everyone, let's board the next train to Ame. Move along quickly. We shouldn't stay here too long."

Konohamaru agreed. "Yeah, we shouldn't. It's quite polluted here. We don't want this accumulating in our lungs."

The group ran through the rain and the thin layer of smog that seemed to linger and hover above the ground. The rays of the sun refracted off the low-lying haze and scattered in all directions, resulting in a dazzling and dynamic light show for anyone who would dare to spend enough time looking at the ground.

"Marumi," Sarada sighed, "of course they would name this place that."

Wasabi chuckled upon hearing that. "Rather self-explanatory, right? And accurate nonetheless…"

Boruto on the other hand was perplexed, as he was not familiar with the old native language. "Why? What exactly does Marumi mean?"

Sarada explained, "In the old native language of the Land of Rain, it basically means 'dirty'. And considering the pollution here…"

"I'm sure they named it for how the people here are hardworking," Wasabi suggested, "that they're not afraid to get their hands _dirty_ to do their jobs for themselves and for their country. At least, that's what I hope they were thinking. But it is still very dirty and polluted here…"

Boruto asked, "How do you know what it means in the old language?"

"Wasabi and I studied it recently. We can't speak it fluently yet, but we can read and comprehend already, and we know the translations and meanings of most of the basic words now."

"It apparently used to be very widespread," Wasabi elaborated further, "up until the time of the Second Great Ninja War in fact. Some countries, like the Land of Rain and Land of Earth, still try to keep it alive as a second language, but most of the ninja nations have already abandoned it in favor of what we use today."

"Ughhh… This is probably why the Lord Amekage moved the factories out of Ame to this place," Denki reasoned. "They cause so much pollution and a lot of harm to people's health. He surely didn't want the capital to be affected any longer."

Iwabe wished, "Hopefully, Ame isn't this bad."

"Now that you think about it," Boruto recalled, "when some of us travelled to Ame for a joint mission back then, it wasn't that polluted at all."

Sarada, Inojin, and Shikadai concurred, since they remembered that past mission well. "If Ame was polluted," Sarada pointed out, "it was still nowhere as bad as this. Right Chocho? Sumire?"

The former merely growled and looked away in reply, still obviously angry over what she perceived as Mitsuki's defiance. Meanwhile, the latter seemed distracted, and Sarada quickly figured out that she was currently being disturbed by her memories.

But at least Sumire responded, after a rather long wait. "Huh? Oh, yes Sarada. It wasn't as dirty as this city, but it was rainier for sure."

"We're here," Moegi informed everyone as the train station came into sight. "Train to Ame… Next one leaves by 4:45 pm, so that's seven minutes from now."

Kakashi asked, "Which train is it?"

"It says Train Line 1, the blue train, so it must be that one," Moegi pointed at the blue train with a dark blue raincloud motif painted on its sides. All twenty-five Konoha shinobi boarded the train to Ame, which left the station about 5 minutes after they seated. The train had six seats per row, divided into two groups by the center aisle, and in their compartment, all sets were facing forwards. Kakashi sat alone at the front the compartment, in front of everyone else, looking by the window and reminiscing the infiltration mission he had undertaken in the country many years ago. Behind him sat Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, and across them sat Hanabi, Shizuka the substitute for Sai, and the sensei of Team 40, Nemuru.

Boruto, Mitsuki, and Shikadai sat on the third row, with Shikadai taking the window seat and Boruto being forced into the seat along the aisle. Beside Boruto, Sumire was covering up her face, trying to avoid getting hit by the playful mini-scrum that had broken out between Wasabi and Namida over who would get the window seat. Sarada sat behind Sumire, still trying along with Inojin to calm the outraged Chocho down. Iwabe, Denki, and Metal all took in the view of the rainy outside and crowded around their window, while behind them in the fifth row, Hako, Houki, and Renga all played games with Tokenagi, Hako's pink doll, in its normal size. Lastly, Enko, Doshu, and Tsuru sat silently and pensively to their right, waiting in anticipation and conserving their energy for more exciting things.

Some twelve minutes after departing from Marumi, past halfway on the train ride, the smog of the factories had fully faded away, replaced by more rain that was surely both cleaner and more pristine. To the west, the sun slowly descended, and it ever so slightly colored the cloud-filled sky with the colors of dusk, the hues of which would inevitably intensify later on.

Inside the train, as some were admiring the slowly setting sun shining through a tiny gap in the storm clouds, Boruto looked around at his friends and saw Sumire eyeing him. They locked eyes for one brief moment in time, about a second long, but it was enough for Boruto to figure out that she had been staring at him for quite a while. Sumire quickly looked away and blushed as red as beets after being caught.

"Sumire?" Boruto reached across the aisle and nudged her gently, earning him a slightly panicked yelp from the purple-haired kunoichi. "Do you remember the mission we had here over a year ago?"

"You mean the joint mission involving Teams 7, 10, and 15? The one when we accompanied Lord Seventh to his secret state visit? Of course I do!"

"Yup, that one. I remembered that you really knew your way around Ame, even into the Amekage's Tower."

Sumire began to explain, "Oh right, I've only partly explained this to Sarada, Namida, and Wasabi. So-"

"Wait!" Sarada interrupted. "I want to know more about it, please?"

"We want to hear this too!" Wasabi and Namida joined Sarada, and their three pairs of eyes were now focused at Sumire.

Taking a deep breath, Sumire nodded. "I lived in Ame for almost two years, actually. I would run away from my father… from Tanuki a lot, and the Old Lady Konan in the Michishirube Tower always took good care of me. She was like my second mother, especially since Mom had died in the Land of Rivers before we moved into the Land of Rain."

"So that explains how you knew your way into that tower," Sarada put the pieces together. "And how the current Amekage and his mother the former Amekage both recognized you."

"Yes, though I was surprised by how quickly they figured out that it was me. I would have thought that I had grown up and changed enough that they would take a while to even recognize me."

Wasabi pointed out, "That's probably because you separated from us, walked up the stairs in the tower, and went to your old room all by yourself."

"Dad had even told us to keep an eye out for you," Boruto told Sumire, "and once you went upstairs, we followed you. Not to mention you looked so obviously nostalgic and lost in your memories. Anyone would have thought that you once lived there for a while."

"I remember the moment Lady Konan saw you," Namida recalled while giggling to herself. "The two of you ran to each other and shared a hug. It was all so sweet!"

"We're close to Ame!" Shikadai announced. "I can see the city now-"

The public address system inside the train compartment blared to life, cutting Shikadai off. _"Good afternoon! We will reach the next stop, Ame, in three minutes._"

Boruto scanned the blue LED light screen nearby. It showed the long roundabout path that the train line took around the Land of Rain, the stations it stopped in, and the time left in minutes until it would reach the specified stations. Three minutes from Ame, 19 from Liwayway, then 43 from Yaman, and finally back to Marumi in 62 minutes.

"You think we'll see Lady Konan again?" Wasabi wondered.

"I'm sure of it," Sarada replied. "I mean, we're staying at the same place we went to last time, after all. She should still be there."

As they approached the station, the towering buildings of Ame seemed to become bigger and more detailed to those inside the train. Slowly but surely, the train began to brake and slow down, and over the PA system the announcement rang out. _"In a short while, we will be at Ame. Please disembark in an orderly fashion, and make sure to bring all your belongings with you. Rain-ways is not liable for any losses."_

Finally, the train reached the protective shade of the station, and the raindrops on the roof ceased. _"Thank you for riding Rain-ways. We give our everything to bring you everywhere!"_

The 25-strong Konoha attaché disembarked from the train and looked around at the bright, beautiful, plant-filled environment around them. "It's even better than the last time we went here," Boruto beamed.

Sarada concurred. "The city's become more beautiful."

"Friends from Konoha! Welcome to Ame!" The group turned towards the powerful feminine voice that had hailed them. That voice belonged to a beautiful, middle-aged woman who had noticeably smooth and somewhat pale yellow skin, and was wearing a dark purple and red kimono of sorts. She grinned and added, "I see some familiar faces among you."

"Old Lady Konan!" Sumire suddenly ran to her and hugged her tightly. "It's so good to see you again!"

Konan deepened the hug. "I haven't seen you in over a year! How have you been since then?"

"I've been alright, I guess. It was my birthday a few weeks ago…"

"Oh yes! Happy birthday! Did you enjoy?" Sumire nodded happily.

Boruto, Sarada, and the others also approached Konan. "It's really nice to see you again, Lady Konan."

Konan breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "I was so worried about you guys during the Kara Offensive. I heard Konoha was among the cities hardest hit by the fighting. But after the offensive ended, I heard that you guys had helped repel the siege on Konoha!"

"That's true," Kakashi smiled. "They all collectively turned the tide for us. By the way, thank you for coming all the way out here to meet us, Lady Fourth Amekage."

"No need for honorifics here, Lord Sixth Hokage," Konan replied with a fair bit of sass, and the two former adversaries shared a laugh. "Anyway, let us go to the tower. I'll show the way for those who don't yet know their way around Ame." Konan then led the six teams that made up the Konoha squadron through the rainy streets of Ame, which were brightened considerably by the perennially open street lamps.

As they approached one of the gates along the inner wall of Ame, a woman with green hair and interspersed yellow streaks stepped in front of them, blocking the gate and impeding their path. "Halt!" She projected her voice loudly while gripping onto and holding up her twin yellow chakrams, one on each hand. "I said halt!"

"Don't worry," Konan reassured the Konoha squadron, "this is normal for anyone new to Ame."

The woman transferred the circular chakram she had held with her right hand to her left, so that both chakrams were at her left hand. With her right hand now free, she unsheathed from her hip a semi-transparent blade. She then casually approached the foreign group. But as she did, she tripped on a rock that barely protruded from the ground, and she stumbled forward. Not wanting to accidentally stab herself, she instinctively let go of her blade, but as she fell face-first to the ground, her semi-transparent knife impacted her fast-incoming heel instead. Because of that impact, the blade graduated into a projectile and careened straight towards Boruto's face.

On pure instinct, Konan transformed her hand and held out a small stack of her own paper cells in front of Boruto's face. The blade still managed to pierce through the bunch of paper, but it got stuck in the stack by its metallic hilt. Boruto let out a squeal from the accidental near-death experience; he was looking straight at the tip of the blade, which stopped just an inch in front of his nose and between his eyes.

"Risha Brunel…" Konan sighed as she pulled the knife out of the paper and watched her paper repair itself. She then walked over to her. "You are the head of the Rain's Watch, the former Fifth Amekage, and my best friend. But at times, you can still be a damned klutz."

"My klutziness has saved the two of us and a lot of other people on so many occasions," Risha pushed herself off from the wet road. "Don't even try to deny that me being a klutz is actually lucky."

"I'm not," Konan replied, helping Risha back up to her feet. "But please, try to be more careful around these people from Konoha. They're my important guests, and they are important guests to my son too." As she was talking, she cleaned Risha's face and her front side of the mud, with her paper acting as the towels.

"Okay, okay, okay," the woman referred to as Risha responded, relenting playfully to Konan. "I'm really sorry about that."

"No harm," Boruto replied, "no foul. But it was damn scary, seeing that knife heading right towards me."

"Speaking of that," Konan asked nicely, giving Risha back the semi-transparent knife. "Please keep taking care of this weapon."

"Of course! The Vassal Projectile isn't something to be handled lightly. Anyway, you are free to pass." She stepped out of the way and gestured for the group to proceed. "And if I may," she added, "I would like to accompany you until you reach the tower and speak with the Amekage."

"Of course," Konan nodded. "The two of us should present the Konoha guests to my son." As the light of the day began to fade, Risha led the group to the center of the inner city, where the old iron tower stood more than ten stories high.

"This is it… the Tower of Pain…" Kakashi recalled from his mission to Ame almost two decades ago.

"That's not a tower of pain," Chocho remarked. "There definitely wasn't any torture there. In fact, the food there was so delicious, I felt like I was in heaven…"

Kakashi groaned at her irrelevant statement, but Konan clarified for him. "It was indeed Pain's Tower before, named after Nagato Uzumaki and his Six Paths of Pain. But Risha here renamed it around fifteen years ago, while she was the Fifth Amekage."

"I renamed it the as Michishirube Tower," Risha revealed. "In the old Rain Tongue, it means, 'A Guiding Light'." They walked up to its grand entrance, with the entire tower lit up with electric lights of mostly white and yellow colors, although there was a small part near the top that was lit with blue and purple. It shone brightly against the darkening background of dusk.

The 25 Konoha ninja looked up at the old skyscraping tower in awe. But before too long, they were guided along by Konan and Risha inside the entrance. From the spacious atrium lobby on the first floor, they were led by Risha into the audience chamber, where Yahikonan was sitting and waiting for them. Once everyone entered the chamber, they bowed before the Sixth Amekage before sitting down.

"My Lord," Risha presented them, "here before you stand the Konoha Regiment that will be stationed over at Mount Tirad."

"Welcome to my tower and home, Michishirube," Yahikonan welcomed them. "You will be staying here for the next few days, until whenever Konoha contacts us further. Once that happens, we will know that war has officially begun. But for now, you should eat and rest up. I am sure you all are weary from almost three days of marching here on foot."

"Dinner should be ready soon," Konan added to their guests, "since it is almost the end of the golden hour of sunset. Come with me to the fifth floor cafeteria so we can serve you dinner. Afterwards, I'll lead you to the eight and ninth floor guest bedrooms, where you will be staying."

*******XXXXXXX*******

As the room he was in became brighter, Boruto slowly woke up from his long sleep and rubbed his eyes. He stretched his arms and legs on the soft and silky-smooth mattress, and then glanced at the clock inside the guest bedroom, where he and the other boys stayed. The clock's old antique hands pointed to a time of 8:55 am.

Boruto's mind flashed back to what had happened last night. He recalled that Konan had led them up the staircase to the fifth floor, while Risha returned to her post on the Inner Walls of Ame. The Konoha detachment was treated to a scrumptious dinner of spare ribs, roast beef, and fried sweet bananas, a staple snack in the Land of Rain. After they finished eating, Konan then led them to their bedrooms. The eighth floor bedrooms went to the girls, while the ninth floor guest rooms were given to the men. The minute the guys picked out their beds and climbed onto them, the softness-to-the-touch and comfort the mattresses offered lulled most of them to a deep sleep.

Looking around him in the room, he saw that Denki, Iwabe, Metal, Houki, and Renga were all still sound asleep on their beds, with Iwabe and Metal in particular both snoring loudly. Boruto gingerly stepped off his bed to go four floors downstairs, so that he could eat breakfast and join the friends of his who are already awake. Passing by the seventh floor on his way down, he noticed that one of the doors of the rooms was open, and inside was a bed that was slightly messy. He took a minute to go inside and investigate, and immediately he knew from the smell of the room and the sheets that Sumire had slept here the night before.

Afterwards, Boruto continued down to the fifth floor eatery, and as he neared it, he smelled the fresh food and heard the voices of his friends. Passing through the entrance of the banquet hall, he saw Sarada, Mitsuki, Sumire, Wasabi, Namida, Hako, Enko, Shikadai, Inojin, and Chocho sitting on one long table. On another table at the other side of the room sat Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Hanabi, and Kakashi, while Konan and Yahikonan were sitting on the table beside the younger Konoha shinobi, near Sarada, Sumire, and the other girls.

Boruto quickly got a plate, picked a lot of food from the eat-all-you-can-style buffet breakfast, and joined in the conversations among his friends. Sumire and Konan were catching up further, with Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida listening attentively to the stories they shared from years past. Meanwhile, Shikadai was explaining the military plan of action and strategy in greater detail to the sixth and current Lord Amekage.

"Sumire," Sarada asked after a pause in her conversation with the former Fourth Amekage, "I noticed last night that you weren't sleeping inside our bedroom."

"Oh that's right," Wasabi remembered. "I woke up at 3 to go to the bathroom, and I didn't see you anywhere. I thought you only went outside the room for a snack or to get some fresh air, so I just went back to sleep."

"Why would she need a midnight snack? She's not Chocho." Mitsuki tilted his head while asking his own question, to the laughter of everyone on the table save for Chocho herself, whose face contorted in anger and fury. She had still not forgotten about what had happened the day before, when she took Mitsuki's defiance as a personal insult.

"You're right with that one, Mitsuki!" Boruto, Shikadai, and Inojin added simultaneously while guffawing uncontrollably. "Good one!" Chocho's rage began to build up even further.

Ignoring her chubby friend's growing outrage, Sarada continued her question. "Did you happen to go to your old room and sleep there instead?"

"Yes," Sumire nodded. "I went down to it after most of you had fallen asleep. It was incredibly nostalgic, since I haven't slept there in around ten years. The bed was still as soft and cozy as ever, and the air in the room fresh and cool as it used to be."

"That's because I clean it every two days," Konan revealed with a chuckle. "It's a force of habit of mine."

"Was that the room that was still open?" Boruto asked Sumire. "I passed by it a while ago."

"The one near the staircase? Yes Boruto-kun, that's my old room."

All of a sudden, Chocho began to throw the cups of cold drinks at the guys who were still laughing. "You're going to get it now," she screamed. "You assholes!"

"That's enough Chocho!" Sumire tried to restrain her close friend, only to be nearly thrown as ammunition to the boys as well. She was only saved by her teammates latching onto her and dropping the floor as dead weight, preventing Chocho from launching her straight into Boruto and Mitsuki. Hako and Enko joined as well, holding back Chocho's arms and legs desperately, while Moegi stood in front of Chocho trying to calm her down.

"By the way," Sarada requested after the laughter of the men had died down. "Boruto, Mitsuki, and Shikadai, can you please check the Ame Market for any additional food and supplies we can buy? I'd like the entire regiment to be fully prepared for when we set out to Mount Tirad."

"Awww," Boruto complained. "Why us? And why do we need to? I'm sure we have all the supplies we need."

Sarada leaned in closer while pulling the three shinobi closer to her, and whispered to them, "Because if you don't, Chocho's going to snap on all of us. She's still seething over Mitsuki slighting her yesterday, or at least thinking that he did, and now you guys just made her even angrier."

"So we're not really going to look out for supplies," Shikadai raised his eyebrow while surmising Sarada's intentions. "We're just going to take a walk around town while you and the others try to defuse Chocho's anger?"

Sarada sighed and then smiled. "_Of course Shikadai would figure out the ulterior motive,"_ she thought to herself. "You're partly right. But you never know; you guys might find some things that are worth buying and bringing along with us. See? Two birds with one stone."

* * *

_**How did you guys like Chapter 16? The New Generation's deployment, The First Shinobi Army, the Land of Rain's much-expanded description (more on it down below), Sumire's lingering problems, Chocho's rage, and Mitsuki's funny cluelessness? If you liked it, feel free to leave comments, reviews, kudos, favorites, follows, subscribes(?), etc! ^_^**_

**_By the way, in case you missed it, the title "Guiding Light" is itself a reference to Violet Evergarden and its wonderful ending song 'Michishirube' (or 'Guiding Light' in Japanese) by Minori Chihara, which always manages to make me happy and sad at the same time XD ^_^_**

_**The next chapter, Chapter 17: Seeking Refuge In The Rain, will feature someone you've seen in the Boruto anime before, and here I will give her a much better story (which she deserved, in my opinion) than what the anime gave her (I PROMISE YOU THAT!) **__**Guess who she is already? Try to guess who she is in the comments! **__**Anything else I say could become a spoiler, so just wait for Chapter 17 on... hmm, Wednesday OR Sunday. I'm not sure if I'm going back to bi-weekly, or if I'll stay weekly from now on. I'll post my decision on Twitter soon enough XD**_

_**Meanwhile, Chapter 18: Histories Retold, will focus more on the mystery character that I hinted at in Chapter 17, along with her new friends in Ame (who will become quite important characters later on, too!), and I'll be revealing/retelling the history of the Land of Rain... from the eyes of a woman named Konan (along with Risha and Yahikonan) ^_^**_

_**Important Note: Chapters 16-18 will feature some heavy world-building and laying down history with regards to the Land of Rain, something that I felt was not expounded upon well enough in the anime. So I went ahead and decided to craft an entire history and geopolitical description of the Rain Nation! It took more than a week to fully flesh out the details! I made sure that everything matched both chronologically and logically, that it was realistic (like how a modern nation state in our world is made), that the geography and cities/towns are feasible on the Naruto world map, and that it followed all canon history (as much as possible).**_

_**PS: For all those who don't speak Filipino, "Yaman" = Riches/Rich, "Marumi" = Dirty, "Liwayway" = Daybreak/Dawn (all Filipino words hehee ^_^)**_


	17. Seeking Refuge In The Rain

**Welcome back, my loyal readers! I'm back with another chapter! And this one is one of my personal favorites, because I'm really diverging from the canon to give one of the characters I find deserving of a much better backstory, not to mention a continuing story! And take note, she'll be quite an important side-character in the coming stories! ^_^**

**Without further ado, enjoy Chapter 17! And be pleasantly surprised (hopefully?) with who this mystery character is! Please feel free to leave comments, reviews, likes, kudos, and follows! They all help me grow as an author! ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Seeking Refuge In The Rain**

"What a drag," Shikadai complained as the three Konoha shinobi strolled through the perennially wet and rainy streets of Ame. "You really got on Chocho's nerves this time, Mitsuki."

"I don't really care," Mitsuki replied bluntly. "I don't understand why she's like that, nor do I understand why you're blaming me for all this. She's the unreasonable one."

"He's got a point," Boruto sided with his teammate. "While everyone else was getting drenched under the rain, she'd be the only one to stay dry, and worse, by using Mitsuki as her own personal umbrella? What is she, our queen bee?"

Shikadai sighed as they neared the marketplace. "Look, I understand where you two are coming from… and it's true… I'm just probably desensitized to her personality; after all, I've been her teammate for years now. But I really wanted to avoid this kind of drama as much as possible, since we've already got a lot on our plates for this mission."

"Tell her that," Boruto quipped as he took a look at the ninja equipment in the weapons stalls. He picked up a pair of twinned swords, which were meant to be dual-wielded. "These are more of traditional weapons. Very finely crafted, but sadly growing obsolete."

Shikadai closely observed some explosive tags, which were marked yellow and red, with the words "high explosives" in all capital letters. "Yet still dangerous with the right pair of hands."

As the two of them moved onto an armor shop, Mitsuki's eyes kept themselves glued to the weapons. All of a sudden, he sensed a familiar presence emanating from nearby. He whispered to himself, _"Where have I felt that aura before… where?"_

He looked around him. Shikadai was still examining the heavy body armor on display, and was also looking at his wallet to see if he could buy several sets. On the other hand, Boruto was already in line at a stall that was selling grilled squid. Mitsuki called out, "I want one too!"

"You got it," Boruto shouted back. "I'll pay for you, don't worry."

"Thanks!" As Mitsuki turned back to focus on the feeling that had been bothering him, a very familiar face passed right by him. Mitsuki's eyes grew wide. Her skin was pale white, her hair a rare shade of platinum blonde, and wearing a black and pink stylish dress not unlike one of a Gothic Lolita. She even had a matching top hat. He was very nearly sure of who she was, and so he followed her close to confirm his hunch.

After a minute of walking leisurely, and another minute of admiring a bunch of beautiful, colorful, and hardy flowers, the woman Mitsuki was following entered a convenience store. _"I'm almost sure that's her,"_ Mitsuki mumbled to himself. _"Should I go in to confirm for myself, or should I wait out here? She's bound to come out at some point anyway-"_

"Mitsuki!" Boruto rushed up to him, with Shikadai right behind him holding a large bag of food that Boruto had ordered for the group. "Here's your grilled squid!"

"Why did you run off like that?" Shikadai questioned him, crossing his arms and lightly tapping his foot. "Where were you going?"

"I was following someone-" Mitsuki began to explain, but was cut off by a rather wide man exiting the store with a plastic bag full of canned goods. They politely made way for him to pass through.

"Who were you following?" Boruto asked his snakelike friend.

"If my hunch is correct, then we all know who she is-" The store door opened once again, and the group then made way for another person exiting the store. This time, it was a lady who was trying to open her brand new umbrella. It was a modern type of umbrella that quickly caught Boruto's eye.

"Wow, is that one of those reverse umbrellas? Like the ones that open inside out? Those really help out with keeping dry, you know."

The lady opened the umbrella and held it straight up, revealing her face in the process. "Yes it is," she beamed contentedly whilst admiring the dark, yet star-laden design of her umbrella's underside.

"I'd love to have… one too…" Upon seeing her pale white face and her bright, shining purple eyes, Boruto and Shikadai were absolutely stunned, with Boruto awkwardly stuttering his words mid-sentence.

Meanwhile, Mitsuki merely smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Kirara."

Momentarily startled, Kirara stared at them, her face full of surprise. "It's… been such a long time… since someone called me by that name…" Her face morphed quickly from shock to happiness. "Long time, no see, Mitsuki. And Boruto and Shikadai. I remember you all fondly."

"It's great to see you've removed your bandages," Mitsuki continued. "You look more human than ever."

"That's pretty much because I am now… I've been for almost three years now…" Kirara sheepishly admitted as she turned to the other two. "How have you all been? How long has it been since that day? Has it really been three years or so?"

Boruto and Shikadai were still in a state of shock and could not greet her back. Puzzled, Kirara tilted her head at them, before panicking and pointing her open umbrella at them to cover her face. "Wait, why am I getting arrested? Are you taking me to Konoha? Or worse, are you taking me to Iwa? What's going on here?"

Now, it was Mitsuki's turn to get confused. "Umm… Who said anything about us arresting you?"

*******XXXXXXX*******

It was the halfway point of another hot afternoon in Iwa, and Kirara was recuperating inside one of the rooms in the Tsuchikage Manor. Her grueling, ten hour, whole-body surgery to insert, arrange, support, and jumpstart the various human organ systems now inside her had gone near-perfectly well. The arteries, veins, and capillaries of her vast circulatory system had been successfully laid out and linked to her newfound respiratory, digestive, muscular, renal, and endocrine systems, while her preexisting skeletal, nervous, vestibular, and exocrine systems were all reinforced and connected to the other newly-installed systems to be more efficient. Only her reproductive and lymphatic-immune systems still needed further work and installation, but her doctors told her that it was another surgery for another time.

What Kirara was focusing her thoughts on was that her body had accepted the human heart transplanted into her. It put Kirara's conscience to rest, to know that the heart had come from a recently deceased, relatively young patient who had been battling end-stage cystic fibrosis. It calmed her nerves, knowing that she didn't deprive someone else of their innate right to live, just for her own continued survival. And furthermore, she felt a newfound responsibility to help her new heart keep beating and keep fighting against all odds. "_I'm…_ _the first fabrication… to truly become… human,"_ she thought to herself.

From the open door of the infirmary she was staying in, she could see Lord Ku instructing them to hold off the impending assault by Kurotsuchi, Onoki, and the Konoha genin who had come to rescue Mitsuki. Lord Ku himself was still recovering from the stab wound Mitsuki had given him, but was still preparing to face off against his creator Onoki.

At the other side of the room, the surgeons opened the door and wheeled a bedridden, still-comatose Siekei in. "His surgery is finished," they told Kirara. "Make sure he rests first for two hours. Only then can we know for sure if his body will accept his new heart. So even if he asks to, don't let him do any physical activity until his body can adapt to the new heart. Otherwise, he might contract Graft-Versus-Host Disease, and if that happens, we'll need to operate immediately and get him a new heart transplant in order to save his life."

"Understood," Kirara nodded. "Nothing physical or-"

"KU!" All eyes turned the former Tsuchikage, Onoki, who had atomized the great stone doors of the mansion. "It's time to end this, once and for all!" Onoki was quickly reinforced by his daughter and his aide to his right, and the six Konoha genin, including the traitor Mitsuki, to his left.

"Kirara," ordered the old doctor who had operated on both of them and given them new life, "take Siekei and get away from here! Please, as carefully as you can, but quickly now! We will hold them off for as long as we can. Live your lives far from here, far from where they can find you. Don't let them destroy our most valuable creations to date… both of you!"

Kirara looked at him with a sense of gratitude that she had never felt before. "Thank you… for all your services to us…"

With that, she gently carried Siekei on her shoulders in a fireman's carry position and jumped out the window of the manor, leaping across the rooftops and streets of Iwa. Kirara's newly-implanted heart was pumping hard and forcefully carving out its hollow niche against the inside of her formerly earthen chest, which was now composed of real muscle and flesh, the same as any other normal human being.

Her new blood coursed through her veins and arteries, and it supplied every cubic centimeter of her body with oxygen. It was an unknown, peculiar, and particularly nauseating feeling. Her heart was beating wildly at a blistering pace, either due to fear or due to a massive adrenaline rush; those were two things that she had only ever read about in books, and so she could not say for sure which one it was. The only thing that was for sure, she thought to herself, was that she was struggling to adjust and cope with these newfound limitations set on her body.

"Ughhh… Kirara?" Siekei awoke as Kirara jumped across a wide gap between two roofs. "What's happening? Why are you carrying me?"

"We're escaping from Iwa," Kirara responded to him.

Siekei inquired further, "What happened to Lord Ku?"

Kirara gave no reply.

"What happened to Mitsuki?"

"Listen, I don't know anything. I just scrambled to get us both out of there, like the scientist in charge of us told me to." She then paraphrased his final order to them. _"We'll live far from where they can find us and hunt us down. We'll live our lives in peace, as normal human beings."_

"So we can remove these bandages of ours?"

"Only once we're safe. In the meantime, don't move too much. You're not supposed to do anything physical for next two hours, and I fear I'm already straining that rule, and your body and heart along with it."

"I'll be okay," Siekei reassured her. "I don't want you to slow down just because of me. They might catch up to us if- ARGH!"

A shuriken embedded itself into Siekei's side, very nearly hitting the back of Kirara's neck as well. Warm, fresh blood slowly started dripping from Siekei's gash onto the pale skin of Kirara's back. Kirara looked back for just a moment, and saw three of the six genin chasing them down and bearing down on them at high speed. The lone female among them, the one she had skirmished with two or three days ago, had her arm outstretched towards them, signifying that it was she who had thrown the shuriken.

She recognized the three as the son of the Hokage Uzumaki, the daughter and scion of the Uchiha line, and Mitsuki, the one who had betrayed them and their cause. Though in truth, she herself did not feel strongly for the cause Lord Ku had fought for, but she and all the other fabrications sided with him so they could get heart transplant surgery, along with construction of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous, skeletal, and every other system found in the human body, and so truly become human.

"Hang on Siekei! Please hang on!" Kirara ran as fast as any person could while carrying someone on his or her shoulders. They rushed past the brown stony walls of Iwa, and their flight continued into the arid desert mesa of the Land of Earth.

After more than an hour and a half of running across the barren mesa and fleeing from their pursuers, the two former fabrications stumbled upon a wide fissure. As Kirara looked downwards, she saw and heard a narrow raging river at the very bottom of the crevasse. "It's too wide to jump," Siekei commented, with his voice ever-weakening. "You're too tired, and you have me as dead weight on your shoulders too."

"Don't call yourself dead weight!" After taking a few moments to regain her breath and the normal composure of her exhausted heart, Kirara looked around her and saw a boulder nearby. Carefully, she put Siekei off her shoulders and gently laid him against the brown rock.

The setting sun cast its melancholic colors onto the two of them. Kirara pulled out the shuriken embedded in Siekei's side, then ripped the bandage off her face and immediately covered up the wound to prevent further blood loss. _"Could it be," _Kirara reflected in hopelessness,_ "that the sun is setting on our time here on this Earth?"_

"Kirara… it will all be okay…" Siekei tried to reassure her, only to suddenly gasp and groan in agony while clasping his chest.

"What is it, Siekei?"

"My heart… I think it's starting to give out on me… my body isn't accepting it well…"

"Don't say that… please," Kirara pleaded. "Please… rest first."

The two rested against the warm boulder. Siekei's gaze was glued to the sunset, while Kirara was looking to see if the Konoha genin were close by. She had lost them through the canyons and the steppes of the huge mesa, but she was sure they would pick up on their trail and track them down eventually. Those genin were trained to do that as ninja, after all.

"Tell me…" Siekei asked weakly, "even if you escape from the Land of Earth… where then will you go?"

Kirara admitted, "I haven't thought of that yet. But anywhere but here is good enough. At least we won't have a Kage who will constantly be hunting us down to eradicate us."

Siekei nodded in agreement. But then, the two tensed up as they heard people landing nearby. The footsteps grew louder and louder, and the voices of Mitsuki and the other boy rang out to each other, reminding to keep looking out for the wanted fugitives.

Then, the female voice shouted to other two, "Guys! Over here! A trail of blood… it's fresh, and it's leading there."

Siekei whispered. "I'm sorry about all this. Kirara, you should have left me behind when you had the chance. That way, at least one of us would have made it out alive."

"Siekei," Kirara whispered back, "we're both getting out of this alive. And I wouldn't leave you behind… you still have to ask Mitsuki why he betrayed us, right?"

"I could do that alone," Siekei retorted, then suddenly writhed loudly in pain. "Dammit, my chest feels like it's going to burst…"

The three voices that Kirara was eavesdropping on grew silent, and the footsteps headed towards their direction. "Chocho," the female in their group of three, Sarada Uchiha, spoke into what Kirara could only guess was a radio. "We're in the middle of the mesa, right next to the Lesser Crevasse River. Go to our position… We have them cornered."

She sighed, not knowing what else to do. "They know we're here. And neither of us can fight since we're both still recovering from our transformation-into-humans surgeries, especially you in your condition now."

Siekei asked, "Should we surrender?"

"Hey, you two!" The former fabrications heard Sarada's voice from the other side of the boulder.

"Don't you dare come any closer!" Kirara warned. "Stay where you are… We're in no shape to run anyway."

"Make it easy," Sarada countered, "for all of us, and for both of you. Give up and surrender to us. End this conflict, so we can restore peace, order, and justice to the city of Iwa."

"…And what if we refuse to surrender?"

Kirara heard a snicker. "Do you remember the last time we fought? The one where you trapped Boruto and I in a genjutsu and made us fight each other?"

"Two days ago, right? What about it?"

"Before we fought, you said that you love beautiful things, and that my glasses would look better on you?" She gave a sarcastic laugh. "As if. I'll tell you now that you're nowhere as beautiful as you think you are, and that my glasses won't go well with your ugly face. They're mine alone."

Kirara rolled her eyes. "Is that supposed to be a taunt? I highly doubt that there's anyone who can truthfully call you beautiful on the inside, or that they would want to stay with you for a lifetime."

Sarada growled and diverted the tense conversation. "If you don't surrender, I'll make sure you won't have any part of your face left."

"And you'll kill us anyway even if we do surrender," Kirara pointed out. "There's no good outcome for us in either of those situations."

Siekei's screams interrupted the negotiations. "My heart… is beating irregularly now… Kirara…"

Kirara immediately offered her hand, which Siekei gripped hard and squeezed to help bear the sensation of pain he was experiencing. "I don't want to die," Siekei repeatedly said, "I don't want to go… I don't want to go… I don't want to go…"

Kirara heard a murmuring from behind the rock, and then out from the corner of the boulder appeared Mitsuki. He slowly approached Siekei and Kirara; he also motioned for Boruto and Sarada to come closer, but to stay well behind him. Mitsuki knelt down gently at the other side of Siekei and gripped his hand as well.

"…Mitsuki?"

"Siekei, I'm here. Please hang on for a while longer."

"Mitsuki… Kirara… I'm afraid that… that I haven't achieved… what I was created… or born to do in this life…"

Mitsuki shook his head. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you weren't born to do any one thing. No one should be created or made merely to fulfill something, only to be discarded afterwards like trash. The only person who should dictate your life and what you want to do and achieve with your life… is yourself."

Siekei looked at Mitsuki, tears flowing and marking a wet trail down his face. "Mitsuki… why did you betray us… Why did you betray me?"

"I didn't really," Mitsuki replied. "I chose my own path, without any bias towards either side. I chose what I knew in my own heart was right. It just so happened that what I thought of was right, diverged and contradicted with what your master wanted. My fight was with him, not with you, and so I did not betray you. Nor will I ever betray you."

He placed his other hand on Siekei's shoulder, and added, "But I'm sorry that we fought… and that I hurt you… I hope you forgive me… and I wish there was another way."

Nodding, Siekei inhaled deeply and leaned his head back against the stone outcrop. He grimaced as his heart fell further and further into its arrhythmia. "It's okay Mitsuki… I understand… I shouldn't try… to control you… You're correct about… living life your own way… and you should live… live your own life too."

Siekei started going pale, even paler than he usually was. Both of his hands, gripping both Kirara's and Mitsuki's, were trembling, and yet their strength of grip was fading. With his other hand, Mitsuki felt Siekei's pulse from his neck. True enough, it was growing fainter and less vigorous. Every now and then, it skipped a beat, and each time Mitsuki worried that it was the end, but there came another late pulse barreling through. Still, it pained Mitsuki to know that the end was both inevitable and coming quickly, and though he could delay it somewhat, he could do nothing to avert it.

"I'm thinking…" Siekei mumbled in a strained but quiet voice, "that experiencing… and knowing what being human means… may be too much… for me to handle…"

"I don't know about that," Mitsuki admitted. "It took me such a long time just to get where I am now. And I still don't know so much about what being human truly means. There's society and friendships and relationships and the concept of family… There are feelings like love, happiness, sadness, loneliness, anger, and gratitude… And there are still so many more concepts that I myself haven't fully grasped yet… But I'm slowly getting there."

"At least you have a goal that you can achieve," Siekei told him. "What worthwhile things have I done in my life?"

"You made me happy… "You taught me… and helped me understand what it means to be friends with other people… especially with those who have different opinions and beliefs than your own. That's quite a hard thing to do, so I want to say… Thank you…"

Siekei laughed as heartily as he could. "I should be the one to thank you, Mitsuki…" He beamed a smile. "You made my short life… much happier… than it would have been without you…"

Mitsuki noticed that the pulses became more noticeable again for a short while. "_Maybe the happiness he's feeling now is somehow extending his life,"_ Mitsuki thought internally.

But then suddenly, the beat receded once again, and more erratic and weakening pulses foreshadowed the end in sight. Siekei's heart was now in the dying throes of its impending failure, and Mitsuki's heart dropped. But Siekei, who was still alive and trying desperately to keep breathing and keep awake, gripped his best friend's hand tightly. His eyes were wide open, straining to stay conscious for as long as he possibly could.

Mitsuki, who felt his eyes starting to water, looked Siekei straight in the eye. "It's okay, Siekei… You don't… have to fight anymore…"

"I know… But before I go…" Siekei let go of Mitsuki's hand, clenched his fist, and raised it to Mitsuki. "…Fist bump?"

Mitsuki smiled and nodded. He inched his fist forward and softly met Siekei's fist, reciprocating the fist bump. "A sign of peace?"

"You could say that…" Siekei nodded gently and grinned wildly.

He then turned to Kirara. "You too… Kirara…" Though a bit hesitant, she too bumped his fist with her own. "Take care of yourself… and don't let yourself be found…"

Kirara looked on, her face contorted into a grimace by anguish and pain of a loss that was close at hand.

"I have no regrets… anymore…" Siekei resigned as he watched the sun approach the brown horizon before him. His breathing became deeper, slower, and more relaxed, as if he was accepting his fate. Soon, Mitsuki noticed that he could no longer feel a pulse from his friend at all, and so kept his eyes glued to his falling friend, who was growing paler by the second.

After mulling over what his final words would be, Siekei finally spoke, although in a language foreign and unintelligible to Sarada and Boruto. _"Ako'y mamamatay… na hindi man lamang makita… ang maningning na pagbubukang-liwayway… Kayong makakakita… batiin niyo siya… at wag niyong kalilimutan… kaming mga nalugmok sa dilim ng gabi…"_

Very shortly after muttering those words, Siekei's once-trembling hands both lost their grip and fell from Mitsuki and Kirara's grasps. His head fell to the side, and his glazed eyes remained unblinkingly open, still gazing towards the sunset. They were gently closed by Kirara one final time.

Out of nowhere, Kirara felt water rushing from her eyes and running down her cheeks. "Why is my body… breaking down again?" She freaked out, feeling her face and body with her hands. "I thought I became human already because of the surgeries, so why am I disintegrating now?"

"You're not dying," Mitsuki let her know as he turned to face her. "You are just crying. Tears. It's a normal reaction human beings do when they're really sad."

"Ohh… sorry. I really don't understand how this all works," Kirara admitted in her still-shaky voice, "or why this is happening. I've never experienced this before. But I'll take your word on it."

Kirara leaned her head on Mitsuki's shoulders, only to feel water drops falling onto her platinum blonde hair. Looking up, she finally saw that Mitsuki too was shedding tears, and that his eyes were red. _"So he's also really sad too now,"_ Kirara noted in her head. _"He really wasn't a traitor…"_

A sad but curious Boruto finally asked, "What did your friend say before he died? He spoke in a different language, so there's no way we could have understood anything."

"It is the language of the Old Earth," Kirara clarified to both him and Sarada while she wiped her tears. "It is a language that has long since been supplanted by the language all shinobi nations now use."

"My father Orochimaru taught it to me," Mitsuki tried to explain to his teammates, "or rather, he programmed it into my brain, so I could speak and understand the old language when needed."

"In any case," Kirara continued, "Siekei's final words were: _'I will die without seeing the dawn shine one more time. You who will see it, welcome it, and do not forget us who fell in the darkness of the night.'_"

While Boruto was struck by the words, Sarada merely tapped her foot, looking impatient and agitated. "Mitsuki," she spoke, "we've wasted enough time because you wanted to send your friend off peacefully. Now let's get this whole thing over with…"

"I'm not going to fight you this time," Kirara countered. "I'm in no shape to do so."

"Mitsuki," Sarada nonetheless ordered, "destroy her right now."

However, much to Sarada's surprise, Mitsuki did not give any indication that he paid any attention to her, much less that he was willing to obey her command. Boruto called out to him as well, with the result being Mitsuki staring a hole into his soul, but otherwise not budging an inch. Sarada sighed and drew out her kunai. "Fine, I'll do it myself."

"Is surrendering an option?"

"It doesn't matter whether you surrender peacefully, or you fight to the end. We will destroy you nonetheless… We must."

"But why?"

"Because it's an order from the Tsuchikage herself," Sarada revealed.

Sarada looked firm in her conviction. However, Kirara noticed that beside the Uchiha, Boruto bit his lip, showing clearly that he didn't agree with it. "But what if you know that the order you're given is wrong? What would you do?"

"You don't get it, do you? You mere fabrication…" Sarada started to close the distance between them. "We shinobi follow orders from our superiors, or innocent people die."

As Sarada drew closer, Kirara scrambled up onto the topside of the boulder. "Your dear Tsuchikage only desires to destroy us because she wants to ensure that the outside world thinks there's nothing wrong with her nation. In reality, The Land of Earth is secretly mired in unrest and constant power struggles, and those are due to her own inept leadership, her clashes with the powerful clans, and even with her own Daimyo, Roa du Tertae. I would know; I've read about them, and I've seen them myself."

Sarada stood at the base of the rock and prepared to climb up. However, Mitsuki extended his snaky arms and wrapped them around her waist, prevented her from moving any further. Kirara crossed her arms. "In any case, keeping us alive very much complicates her goal, especially if it were to come out that her own father ordered us to be made behind her back. Even if we were originally made and intended to be disposable, mass-producible substitutes for their soldiers, a very good intention by old Onoki, she wouldn't like to look as a weak and incompetent leader whose own father constantly countermands her."

"Even so," Boruto countered, "we must honor our promise to her. If we don't, she may lose her trust in Konoha. She might turn against us and break the alliance between our two countries. It'll be so chaotic afterwards if that happens…"

"So you think we must die so that the rest of you remain safe for the meantime? Sacrifice the few for the benefit of the many? Weed out the sub-humans for the gain of the real humans?"

"I… did not…"

"You did just say that!" Kirara dug deep in herself and found the will to fight back against the three, not by using violence, but by using words and logic. "You may even think that I'm still merely a fabrication. But if you didn't notice, I'm more human than not at this point! I have a beating heart in my chest now! Blood that travels through every nook and cranny in my body! Lungs that breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide! Nerves that feel pain and fatigue! Not to mention a stomach I have yet to try!"

Boruto remained silent and looked down, obviously in deep thought. "And to top it off, I am self-aware of my own existence, my own history, my own story! So why do still view me as if I wasn't a human just like you?" She then turned to Sarada. "And who are you to decide who lives and who dies?"

Boruto was plunged deeper into debate with his own conscience. '_She was not an abomination like what Ku had become,_' Boruto thought to himself,_ 'nor a mere was she a lifeless machine as what Kurotsuchi had described fabrications to be… Rather, she has become nearly, if not already a true human being like everyone else; she has her own thoughts, opinions, desires, wills, and even dreams of their own."_ Because of this epiphany, Boruto finally sheathed his kunai.

Sarada bluntly pressed on, "I just don't care about your excuses, your justifications, or your philosophies. Justice must still to be served, regardless of whether you truly are human now or not. You and your friends led a coup against the Tsuchikage, an important ally of the Hokage and the Land of Fire. You chose the wrong side, and now you'll suffer the consequences."

"More like was born into it," Kirara clarified to the stubborn, deaf ears of Sarada. "And I can guess the consequence you have in mind."

Sarada all but confirmed her theory. "Of course. Death." However, when Sarada a sudden, quick move to lunge at Kirara, Mitsuki tightened his wrap around her, keeping her in position on the ground and away from Kirara. At the same time, Boruto took a few steps forward, held Sarada's shoulder, and made eye contact with her.

"Sarada, I can't agree with what you just said… That only applies to people who make wrong choices willfully and don't change their ways. Yet we all know that Kirara was created and born into this, so we can't fully blame her for the only thing she was taught, trained, even originally born to do."

Now, it was Sarada's turn on the defensive. "Why would you say that?"

"Because by your logic," Boruto correctly pointed out, "Sumire should have been executed the moment she surrendered after her failed attack on Konoha. Would you really be okay with that?"

Sarada's eyes grew wide upon hearing Boruto's words; she had realized the flaws in her rather extreme line of thinking. "Going further, Kagura should have been tried and executed for participating in the rebellion against Chojuro and Kiri, even though he himself switched sides and helped quell it. Ryogi should have been killed when Shikadai and I broke Gekko's genjutsu over him."

"And lastly…" Boruto emphasized. "If this is what you truly want, then Mitsuki should be killed once we all return to Konoha. Is this truly what you want? I can't imagine you really wanting any of them dead, or am I wrong?"

Sarada looked away, her eyes closed in fear of letting the turmoil inside her show. "But… the Tsuchikage… what will she think? You yourself said that if she finds out that we aided her enemies and let them escape, she might turn against Lord Hokage and Konoha."

"I know that can happen. I'm afraid of the possibility too. But on the other hand, you told me that you wanted nothing more than to be Hokage and to emulate my father. Well, my father showed kindness, mercy, and compassion to Sumire, Ryogi, and other children, especially orphans just as he was. I'm sure he'll understand Mitsuki too."

"And if I'm not mistaken," Boruto pointed directly at Kirara, "she's only really about a year and a half old right now, so she's pretty much a toddler, albeit a very strong, skilled, and somewhat mature one for her real age. So I beg you Sarada, show some degree of mercy and understanding to Kirara, unless you are one of those messed-up people who believe that children can be truly criminals…"

"You are mistaken Boruto," Mitsuki corrected him. "Kirara is actually less than a year old right now. And to your other point, I'm actually willing to be punished for my actions once we go back, if Sarada wills it."

"NO!" Sarada immediately protested. "Mitsuki… I don't want any harm done to you once we go back." At last, Sarada capitulated, and she retracted the generalizations she had made, along with admitting the lack of empathy she had expressed. "I'm truly sorry," she bowed her head while lowering her guard. "If I am to become Hokage in the future, I mustn't jump to these sorts of conclusions, or come to rash judgments. I'll try to use this as a learning experience."

"Now there's the Sarada we all know," Boruto chuckled, and even Mitsuki joined in.

"Thanks Boruto Uzumaki," Kirara gratefully thanked, "and you too, Mitsuki. This is the first time I have seen people being capable of change, and also the very first time that people treated me as just another normal person, and not as a tool or a monstrosity. It's a very inspiring sign of the future. So," she raised both of her hands in the air. "I surrender to you three, on the one condition that you three keep me safe."

"Condition accepted," Boruto immediately agreed and gave his thumbs up as a sign of assurance.

"I'm glad we're all friends now," Mitsuki genuinely smiled, much to the chagrin of Sarada, who wondered to himself out loud whether Mitsuki really knew what the word _"friend" _truly entailed.

Nonetheless, Sarada put away her kunai and shook Kirara's hand. "Now, all that's left to decide is how to deal with the Tsuchikage, how to get Kirara out of the Land of Earth, and where she should stay from now on." Sarada huffed and smacked Boruto in the arm playfully. "I don't know how you always talk me into these kinds of things."

"What kinds of things?" The group heard Chocho's voice ring out. Before they could react, Kurotsuchi, Shikadai, Inojin, and Chocho all converged on their location. "Lord Ku is dead! We killed him!"

"More like Onoki killed him," Shikadai clarified Chocho's brash statement. "Onoki is just resting back at Iwa."

"Oh shit," Sarada whispered to her teammates and Kirara, "I completely forgot… I had already told them where we were."

"Good work," the Tsuchikage commended Team 7, "I see you've captured the last fabrication. But I am not interested in keeping any of them prisoners. I must ask you on last thing from you three: destroy it, and end this here and now, once and for all."

"If I may ask," Boruto questioned Kurotsuchi, "why exactly should we destroy her? She already willingly surrendered to us without a fight."

Kurotsuchi exhaled and deadpanned, "In order to ensure the security and image of the Earth Nation, they must all be wiped out. These fabrications must be kept secret from the outside world, for the overall benefit of my country and my people. These fabrications are only abominations and monstrosities. They are merely mistakes that my father made, and as both Onoki's… the Third Tsuchikage's granddaughter, and as the Fourth Tsuchikage, I have the responsibility to clean up and fix his mistakes."

With uncertainty filling in their faces, both Mitsuki and Boruto turned to Sarada, who herself was looking at a downcast and worried Kirara right behind her. She then faced her two teammates and reassuringly nodded to both of them.

"I'm afraid we cannot comply with that order," the Uchiha bluntly stated to Kurotsuchi. She raised her arms in the shape of a cross, signifying her intent to protect Kirara at all costs.

Kurotsuchi was taken aback by Sarada's unexpected defiance. "And why is that?"

Sarada looked at her dead in the eyes. "Because we three have come to the conclusion that it is wrong to kill her," she elaborated their reasons. "Your order is morally reprehensible and plain wrong. Kirara is truly human now, and she is only a child at that. And I, for one, firmly believe that it is wrong to charge and punish children in the same way we do adults. Children, after all, are not criminals."

Kurotsuchi snapped angrily, her impatience getting the best of her. "How dare you disobey the Tsuchikage, and all the while doing so in the Land of Earth, where my word is absolute? Child or not, she is an abomination! She is much worse than criminal scum!"

Chocho looked on confused. She had never seen Sarada defiantly express her own opinions like this towards figures of authority. Then a thought came to her head that sent her panicking. "They must be under that damn fabrication's genjutsu again!" Without a second thought, she leapt up, intending to squash Kirara with her engorged arms to finish her off. But Mitsuki grabbed her legs with his outstretched arms, wrapped them together, and yanked her down to the ground, not even halfway to Kirara's spot. "What are you doing, Mitsuki?"

"I'm sorry," Mitsuki apologized to Chocho, "but she's my friend too."

As that was going on, Inojin and Shikadai rushed to check on Boruto and Sarada. Shikadai tried releasing Boruto from any potential genjutsu, while Inojin scoured Sarada's mind and scanned her memories, just as his mother Ino had taught him before.

Immediately, Shikadai quickly determined that Boruto was not under any genjutsu, as the releasing jutsu had no effect. After a few more seconds, Inojin came back to his senses after extracting his consciousness from Sarada's. "They're telling the truth!"

"Really?" Chocho sulked. "Aw dammit, I'm sorry! It's just that you guys were acting so out of the ordinary, so I thought you were being possessed or something."

"Kirara is human now," Sarada affirmed, "and she surrendered to us on her own terms."

Boruto added, "On the condition that we keep her alive and safe. Her safety and wellbeing is our responsibility now, as her captors. As such, we must protect her from anyone who wishes to do her harm." He then turned to Kurotsuchi, only to notice that she was closing in on Kirara. Even without his Jougan, he could sense a familiar horrible vibe coming from the Fourth Tsuchikage. He informed his friends, "Dammit, I can feel her killing intent!"

"Stop her!" Sarada shouted the order to her friends.

All at once, they rushed Kurotsuchi to prevent her from getting closer, yet she pivoted and faced them quickly, as if she knew they were going to turn on her. "Lava Style: Ash Stone Seal Jutsu." Plumes of sulfuric volcanic ash spewed out from Kurotsuchi's mouth and wrapped around the six genin, immobilizing them almost completely. It quickly hardened into a concrete-like substance and trapped them in place, and the poisonous sulfur dioxide gas slowly began to choke the life out of them.

As Boruto, Sarada, and the others struggled to free themselves from the hardened lava, Kurotsuchi now set her sights on destroying the last fabrication, Kirara. The fabrication-turned-human bowed her head in submission. Fatigued from her long run and still weakened from her surgery mere hours ago, she could no longer sense and feel the will to fight on, so she began to accept her fate.

But when Boruto noticed Kirara's apparent surrender, he immediately objected. "If you're now a human being like you say you are," he spoke out and exhorted to Kirara with what voice he had left, "you should value your new life! And show us that you value your life by fighting to stay alive! Give your all to keep yourself alive! Live your life to the fullest! Never give it up without fighting to your final breath!"

Kirara listened to Boruto's words with wonder. Inspired by his encouragement, she faced her assailant Kurotsuchi, who at that point was right in front of her. With a disgusted, disdainful, judgment-filled look on her face, Kurotsuchi prepared to crush her. "Earth Style: Falling Earthen Spears."

On the other hand, Kirara's eyes glowed brilliant purple and sparkled iridescently, and caught the irises of Tsuchikage's eyes just in the nick of time. Kurotsuchi stopped mid-cast of her jutsu, and so the rock skewers she intended to impale Kirara with simply crumbled back into the desert dust from whence they came. The look on the Tsuchikage's face was one of shock, disbelief, and pure heartache. On the other hand, Kirara fell backwards onto the stone mesa, having expended a lot of chakra over such a short period of time to deliver to Kurotsuchi a very potent and emotional genjutsu.

The solidified volcanic ash that trapped Boruto and the other Konoha genin also withered away, as Kurotsuchi's chakra link was lost once she entered the genjutsu. The six freed themselves and stretched, and Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki, checked up on both the Tsuchikage and Kirara.

"What did you hit her with?" Sarada asked, referring to the genjutsu that Kirara used.

Kirara caught her breath before admitting, "I showed her brother begging for forgiveness… to save him from death… It should last a long while, around an hour at the least?"

"Wow, that's a low blow," Chocho quipped.

"But an effective stopper," Mitsuki countered in his usual nonchalant voice. "It'll give us more time to decide what to do now."

Sarada nodded in agreement. "Kirara, what are you going to do now?"

"To be perfectly honest with you," Kirara shook her head, "I don't quite know yet."

"You should learn more about our world," Boruto suggested. "As for where to stay, you could come with us to Konoha for a while."

"I've thought of that, but don't Kurotsuchi and her assistant regularly go to Konoha for the Shinobi Union meetings? What if they spot me there?"

Shikadai crossed his arms. "She's right. They do come to Konoha much more often that they used to."

"Then… hmm… " Boruto wracked his brain. "We'll disguise you! And give you a fake name!"

"A fake name?" Shikadai snickered. "I'd love to hear this…"

"Yeah! Like… umm…" Boruto looked around and saw everyone, including Kirara, looking back at him in anticipation. "Dammit, suddenly I'm feeling pressured, you know?"

"Never thought I'd hear you say that," Sarada chuckled. "I'm sure you can think properly and logically while under pressure."

"I'm not so sure about that," Inojin contradicted with a smirk on his face, much to Boruto's annoyance. Suddenly, a bright idea came to Boruto, and he hammered his fist onto his open palm.

"I know! How about, _'Tiger Festival!'_"

An awkward silence fell upon the group. After trying to absorb Boruto's suggestion for the better part of ten seconds, Shikadai and Inojin finally released their all-out laughter, while Chocho face-palmed and groaned audibly. "What the fuck! Really Boruto? Do you choke that much under even slight pressure?"

Meanwhile, Mitsuki looked at the others in confusion. "Huh? What's wrong with it? I like it! Tiger Festival… I think it's a very unique name. Now the Tsuchikage will never figure out who you are, Kirara!"

Boruto hung his head in shame. Mitsuki's approval was the last thing he needed. "Now I know it's really a bad name."

"You idiots!" Sarada loudly berated her two teammates, squinting her eyes in disappointment. "What kind of girl would want a stupid name like that? Unbelievable!"

"I hinted to you guys, Boruto's not very good with names," Shikadai reminded them.

"Nor is he good when thinking under pressure," Inojin chuckled.

"Fine then," Boruto retorted, "what would you name her?"

"I don't know," Sarada shook her head. "Just anything but that!"

"About that," Kirara interrupted, "it's fine. I thought about it, and I've decided to travel to Ame and stay there."

"Ame," Shikadai commented, "in the Land of the Rain. It's relatively close by, and it's secluded and forgotten enough by the Land of Earth. The ninjas from the Earth Nation rarely ever go there… Good idea!"

Kirara smiled. "And I'll think of a new name for myself when I get there, to coincide with the start of a new life for me." Then, she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "But _'Tiger Festival'_ is a start. It could work as a good moniker too."

"See guys?" Boruto beamed a healthy smile. "She approves of it." The rest, excluding Mitsuki, merely rolled their eyes at him.

"In any case, I better get going. It's a long journey, and I'd like to get out of Earth Nation territory as soon as possible."

"Here, take this with you." Sarada handed her a sling bag with some supplies, food such as edible healing gels, and other equipment for her journey. "We'll be returning to Iwa and Konoha soon anyway. You'll have more use for these than we will."

"Take this as well," Chocho spoke as she placed some packs of potato chips into the sling bag. "You've got to try them. One is wasabi flavor, while the other is cheese and sour cream. Both are heavenly delicious-"

"Chocho," Inojin butted in, "is this really the time?"

"Thanks guys, really." Kirara slung the bag over her shoulder and turned around to face the setting sun. "Ame is further to the south, right? I've only ever read about it in the almanac I was given."

"Yes," Shikadai confirmed while pointing to some snow-capped mountains in the far distance. "You'll need to cross that mountain range, the Mile-High range if I recall correctly. Preferably, take the Hod Pass route along Mount Tirad; it's the lowest and easiest mountain pass there, so it's the most used. Once you cross the mountains, you'll be safe from the Tsuchikage."

"We wish you all the best," Boruto gave her his usual encouraging thumbs up. "The best of luck to starting life anew."

Kirara nodded and tipped her top hat back to them. "I truly hope we all meet again someday." With that, she broke into a jog heading south, looking back every 50 meters and waving back at her six new friends, until she at last had faded from their view in conjunction with the falling of night.

A little while after the light of day faded away and Kirara fully disappeared from their sight, Kurotsuchi awoke from the illusion, fell onto her knees, and gasped for air. She was quickly attended to by the six genin, who had decided to keep watch over her while Kirara's genjutsu did its job.

"Lady Tsuchikage!" Sarada asked, trying to sound as concerned as she could. "Are you okay?"

"What… happened? Ugh…"

Boruto spoke up with the pre-rehearsed lie almost immediately. "After she caught you in that genjutsu… she jumped… into thin air…"

"She leapt into the Lesser Crevasse," Sarada clarified, pointing to the ravine just a few meters to the west, "and landed in the river down at the very bottom. We didn't see her surface."

Kurotsuchi groaned as she tried to stand. "We should return to my city. Tomorrow, we'll send our shinobi to search the riverbanks and the canyons. If she's still alive, we'll find her and destroy her, even if it takes eroding away the entire desert to do so."

Due to the Tsuchikage's raging anger and embarrassment over having been caught in the genjutsu, the group marched back to Iwa in near-total silence, as they were afraid to rock the boat and offend her.

However, about an hour later, as the lit-up city gates of Iwa became distinctly visible, Kurotsuchi seemed to remember what had happened before the genjutsu enthralled her. She turned and glared at Sarada. "As for you, Sarada Uchiha, I'll make sure to inform the Hokage about your utter lack of respect and your insubordination. Maybe he'll take my word into account, and start looking for another candidate to train as the next Hokage."

"As you say," Sarada muttered angrily through her gritted teeth. She then whispered to Boruto and Mitsuki, "As if Lord Seventh will take her word over mine."

Boruto snickered, while Mitsuki looked at her with an uncertain face. "Boruto, Sarada," Mitsuki let them know, "I'm not sure if I'll be welcome anymore in Konoha."

"Are you kidding me?" Boruto responded. "Of course you'll be welcome. I'm sure of it."

"How can you say for sure?"

Boruto put his arm around Mitsuki's shoulders, and pointed to the gate. "As I said, there's your welcoming party."

Outside the stone gates of Iwa, illuminated by both the moonlight and the yellow electric lights at the gate-side towers, Naruto, Shikamaru, and all the members of Teams 5 and 15 were waiting for them, and were waving at them. One of them, a certain purple-haired kunoichi, started sprinting towards them to welcome them as soon as possible, and was shortly followed by everyone else.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Kirara panicked slightly, overcome in fear of getting arrested or deported back to the dangerous Land of Earth. "Why else would you three be right in front of me right at this very moment? And before anything else, I am now a citizen of the Land of Rain, and an official resident of Ame-"

"Kirara, calm down." Boruto finally managed to speak. "Don't worry, we're not here to arrest you, or anything remotely close to that. We're just shocked as you are that we bumped into you."

"Ohh… pheeeeeeew…" After that initial sigh of relief, she paused, as if she was suddenly thrust into deep thought. "Kirara…" she smiled, "nobody has called me by that name in such a long time. I've almost forgotten how it feels like to be called that."

Out of the back of his mind, Boruto remembered his _'Tiger Festival as Kirara's new name'_ fiasco from years ago all too well, and blushed glowing-red in embarrassment. "Ohh shit… Please don't tell me you actually changed your name to _'Tiger Festival'_."

Kirara vigorously shook her head, much to Shikadai's laughter. "I mean," she explained while trying her hardest not to embarrass Boruto further or hurt his pride, "sometimes my friends now describe me as the _'Tiger' _of the group. But as for my real name, I changed it to _'Kirakira'_."

Mitsuki thought deeply about the name change and smiled. "So from Kirara to Kirakira… from mica, a rough rock with a metallic sheen, to a glittery, sparkly gem. I like it."

Boruto concurred. "I think this new name fits you better. You really look brighter, more vibrant since the last time we saw you."

"Thank you guys," Kirara replied as she closed her newly bought purplish reverse-umbrella.

Shikadai noted, "So both figuratively and literally, you are a rock that has undergone metamorphosis, a huge and awesome change… Kirakira, you've really become a diamond in the rough."

* * *

**_So, how did you guys like the chapter? Surprise, the mystery character I've been hyping up was Kirara (or now called, Kirakira ^_^) Also, I made her backstory much better than it was done in the anime... I think/hope? Also, her name-change is super meaningful! ^_^_**

**_I truly loved writing this chapter, and it's evident by the fact that some of my personal views are referenced in the chapter, like the last words of Seikei (in Filipino! ;D), children not being criminals, human rights, no-to-racism/discrimination, etc! It also gives a little background into why the events of Chapter 14 took place (aka: Kurotsuchi being a hothead, an inept leader, and constantly clashing with the former Daimyo, and current Shogun Roa Du Tertae and the other powerful clans of the Land of Earth). _**

**_In the next chapter, Chapter 18: "Histories Retold", which I will release next Sunday, the Fifth Great Ninja War looms ever closer to becoming a reality, Kira(ki)ra introduces Boruto, Shikadai, and Mitsuki to her friends in Ame (and vice versa?), and Konan will tell some of the New Generation about the history of the Land of Rain, as well as how she came back to life after Obito killed her =O (I worked hard in making the entire history, backstories, timelines, and geography match with all canon facts given so far!)_**

**_And in Chapter 19: "Into Thin Air," coming out two weeks from now, the 25 Konoha ninjas we know and love will scale Mount Tirad and begin their mission to provide reconnaissance of the Earth Army. Literally anything else I could say could become a huge spoiler in and of itself, so I'll just give more hints next time! ^_^_**

**_PS: Filipino readers, do you remember Elias' final words in Noli Me Tangere? Then you also know where Seikei's final words came from, hehehe ;)_**

_"Ako'y mamamatay na hindi man lamang makita ang maningning na pagbubukang-liwayway. Kayong makakakita, batiin niyo siya, at wag niyong kalilimutan kaming mga nalugmok sa dilim ng gabi." _


	18. Histories Retold

_**Hello loyal readers! I'm back this week with another chapter! This one deals a lot with the full detailed history I made the Land of Rain, the Amekages past and present, as well as Kirara/Kirakira's life in Ame (her friends and future teammates, her schooling, her becoming human, etc) ^_^**_

_**I truly hope you enjoy Chapter 18! Feel free to comment down below, and leave kudos or favorites or follows if you loved it =D**_

* * *

**Chapter 18: Histories Retold**

The Hokage Mansion was full of people, and it was bustling with nervous, energetic activity. Shinobi of Konoha and assistants of the foreign representatives were coming in and going out of the meeting rooms quickly, with real time updates of the current situation. The tense and frantic negotiations, efforts made by those desperately seeking to avert a major war, were still taking place between the two sides.

Inside the meeting room, the emergency Shinobi Union conference had already begun, and the assembled representatives of each nation in the Union were discussing the possibilities while waiting in anxiety for the results of the ongoing negotiations. Kurotsuchi, whom Naruto had welcomed into Konoha just a week ago following the Iwa coup, was impatiently pacing back and forth. Naruto and Gaara had just ended their videoconference with Shikamaru, who was leading the Shinobi Army on the march to Kusa in the Land of Grass. Naruto groaned, and his voice was obviously filled with stress.

"Lord Hokage," the sole representative of Lord Shogun Roa bowed and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "My name is Bon Goh, the diplomat and voice of Shogun Roa Du Tertae, and I bring to you now the ultimatum from Shogun Roa Du Tertae himself."

Bon Goh unfolded and read the document. "This is what the rightful ruler of the Nation of Earth demands to prevent a costly war. _'Firstly, cede control of Iwa, and the entire Land of Earth, to its rightful ruler, Roa Du Tertae. Secondly, deport the traitorous Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi back to Iwa, where she will be executed for her seditious crimes against the Almighty Shogun. Thirdly, keep Union militaries at least 5 kilometers from any point on the Land of Earth's borders. Fulfill all three of these conditions, not one less, or there will be war.' _That is all, Lord Hokage. Thank you for your time."

"Everyone," Naruto spoke loudly as he stood up to address the Union. "I would like to make my next statement crystal clear." The entire room fell quiet. All the people in the room waited with baited breath to hear what the Seventh Hokage had to say. Correspondingly, Naruto cleared his voice and inhaled deeply. "I am going to help Kurotsuchi regain control of Iwa, you know? No question about it. So if your Shogun wants a war, he will get it… And he will lose it."

Bon Goh let out a seemingly sad, disappointed sigh, and he reluctantly nodded. "Then, Roa Du Tertae, and the one legitimate government of the Land of Earth, hereby declares war on Konoha and all its allies in the Shinobi Union who will directly aid them in their conflict against us."

The room fell into a hopeless silence afterwards. The worst fears of all who were present were realized. Even with the Shinobi Union in action, they would not be able to avert another major war from happening. "It feels like we're jumping into thin air," Naruto remarked, "you know?"

*******XXXXXXX*******

"I was gifted a house by the Lord Amekage himself," Kirara, or now Kirakira, told the three Konoha shinobi accompanying her as she showed them around the rainy and bleak, yet also lively and bustling, city of Ame. The four friends walked through the rainy streets under their umbrellas. From the marketplace, they were headed to Kirara's place, since Kirara had basically invited them over. "He said that he wanted me to have the chance to have a better life than he did, because he was sort of an orphan as well, and that both of his parents before him were orphans too."

"That's sad," Boruto commented. "Why were they all orphans?"

"Different times, Boruto," Mitsuki reminded him. "If my memory is correct, then the Amekage's parents were both part of the Original Akatsuki, and they were both killed around the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War. My father told me stories about it."

Boruto asked, "Which means that they were both evil? I remember Mom and Dad telling Himawari and I stories about them fighting off the Akatsuki during the Fourth Great Ninja War."

"Nope," Shikadai answered. "What you're talking about is the Akatsuki that Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha took over and controlled. Back then, even until when our dads were younger, the world was in a constant state of war and violence. Ame was always at the center of conflicts between the Fire, Wind, and Earth Nations because of its industrialized nature, and its value to the Great Powers as both a fortress city and a buffer state for them to exert their influence and control over. And the Original Akatsuki was formed by Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko, to protect the rights of the nation of Ame and its people from outside interference and oppression."

"I'm glad Dad and the other Kages stopped that oppression," Boruto gave his opinion. "Even though there's a big chance that the Fifth Great Ninja War happens due to the chaos in Iwa, the world is for sure a much better place than it was just twenty years ago."

"You're right that the world is a better place now than a decade or two ago," Kirakira replied, "but oppression still exists to this day. Albeit to a much lesser extent, it is still alive and well, especially in the Earth Nation."

"She's right," Shikadai sided with her. "The tendency of the Five Great Nations to try and control the smaller states around them is still here, though somewhat curtailed due to Lord Hokage and his peers."

Kirara nodded in agreement, then asked, "But if I may ask, what is this chaos in Iwa that you speak of? I haven't been able to keep up with global news because finals exams in my school are coming really soon."

"Lady Kurotsuchi, the Fourth Tsuchikage? Do you remember her?" Kirara nodded to Boruto's question. "Well, she's been deposed by a coup led by the Earth Daimyo, Roa Du Tertae, whom you've likely heard of as well."

"Yes, I saw the Earth Daimyo during my time there."

"Now, tensions are running really high, since Lord Seventh wants to support the Lady Tsuchikage and return her to power, so a war is likely to break out between the Great Nations once more."

"So that's why you're here…"

"Correct," Shikadai began to explain their mission. "We've been assigned to the mountain passes at Tirad. Our mission is to provide Konoha with surveillance and reconnaissance of the Earth Nation's army, and to repel any raiding sorties of Earth shinobi into Ame, if necessary."

"You mean, the same mountain pass that I took to cross the High Mountains to get to the Rain Nation? Hod Pass?"

"Yes, that's one of the two we're assigned to, the other one being Feres Pass."

"It wasn't an easy trek by any means," Kirara told them, "but thanks to the supplies you gave me, I was able to cross it in just over half a day."

Boruto asked the former fabrication, "How was settling down here?"

"At first, I didn't have a lot of friends," Kirara recounted her story to them. "I mean, I was a really strange-looking foreigner from the Land of Earth applying for asylum, and I was really only about ten months old at that point. The Ame Council wanted to deport me at first when I told them of the truth of my past; they thought I was a dangerous threat as well. But the Lord Amekage Yahikonan stopped them and allowed me to stay at the orphanage at first, with round-the-clock surveillance to observe my behavior."

Kirara continued her story, "Two months after that, on my first birthday, Lord Amekage gave me my permanent residence ID card, my house now, a monthly pension, and even a scholarship to the Ame State University, ASU. Exactly one year later, on my second birthday, Lord Amekage finally granted me citizenship for the Land of Rain."

"You must have really made an impression on him," Shikadai commented. "It's not everyday that the leader of the nation helps you so directly and gives you these opportunities to succeed."

Boruto reminded him, "Dad does it all the time! He did all those same things for Sumire, for Ryogi, and other orphans."

"I don't know the specifics of Sumire's situation," Shikadai responded, "but I remember that my dad had to convince Lord Hokage to allow Ryogi to attend Konoha Academy. That was mainly because he was going to be batchmates with your sister and he needed to be sure that Ryogi was a good person. But to your point, he happily agreed to everything else."

"Also, after my first birthday," Kirara went on, "I completed my human-conversion surgeries."

"What do you mean?" Mitsuki now asked her. "I thought you were done with that, and that you were already human?"

"Almost," Kirara clarified. "Like 90-95 percent? Back then, the only major things I was lacking were my reproductive and lymphatic systems, and the Ame doctors were able to complete the procedures so I could become fully human. So yes, I've been fully human for… hmm, almost two years now, I would say."

Boruto closed his eyes at first, trying to remember his biology. "What's lymphatic again?"

"The immune system," Mitsuki, Shikadai, and Kirara all answered him simultaneously.

"Oh, got it… Wait what? You lived without an immune system for more than a year? And you're still alive?"

"More like two and a half months. Remember, I only became human when I was around 10 months old. And the procedure was completed two and a half months later."

Shikadai palmed his face. "Boruto, do you ever pay full attention?"

"He does when Sumire is involved," Mitsuki innocently pointed out to Shikadai, who nudged Boruto with his elbow and laughed loudly.

"Shut up! You guys…"

Kirara respectfully waited for them to finish their teasing before she continued. "As to your question about how I stayed alive without an immune system, the environment in Ame is much cleaner than it used to be. Under the Lord Amekage, most of the polluting factories had moved out of the city limits, and they relocated nearer to the border with the Land of Fire, which also coincidentally ended up benefiting their productivities, trades, and profits. Anyway, the land, water, and air quality inside Ame all increased, the sickness and death rates dropped dramatically, and so both the life expectancy and quality of life here skyrocketed."

They rounded the corner of the street, and Kirara's eyes glowed in happiness. "We're going to pass by my school in a while. It's just along this street here."

"Speaking of your school," Shikadai wondered, "what grade are you right now? I'm curious because in reality, you're not even four years old yet."

"Grade?" Kirara tilted her head. "You mean, Year, right?"

"No way!" Shikadai's jaw dropped. "You're in college already?"

"High school," Kirara corrected Shikadai as he lifted his own jaw back into place. "Second Year, Class A. And before you ask, the reason why the doctors and psychologists accelerated me so much was because even though I'm really only less than four years old right now, my physical age resembles someone who is around 12 to 13 years old, and my mental age about 15."

Before the three could reply to Kirara, three other girls ran up to her and tackled her into a group hug. "Kirakira! We went to your house, but you weren't there."

"Velvet! Eleanor! Magilou! You three were looking for me?"

"Of course! Have you started reviewing for the final exams this semester? We'd like to come over to your house and study for them!"

"Not yet," Kirara replied as she faced back to the three Konoha ninja. "I'd like to introduce you to my closest friends," she grinned, pointing to the people in question from right to left. "These are Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou, respectively."

Observing Kirara's friends, Boruto noted that Velvet had ankle-long, messy, raven black hair, and she was wearing ripped, worn out black and red clothing that went along with the shiny, clawed gauntlet on her left hand. The one next to her, Eleanor, had shoulder-length reddish hair, was dressed in a high-end pale gold and blue dress, and had a spear strapped to her back. The last one, Magilou, had platinum blonde hair up to her back, was clothed in a dazzling mixture of lavender pink and midnight blue, with a unique jester-like hat that topped even Kirara's own top hat, and she had in her pockets what looked to be colorful paper cards with funny designs and artistic figures printed onto them.

"Your old friends-" Upon seeing the ninja headbands they sported, Kirara's three friends froze and became defensive. "They're Konoha shinobi! Kirakira, how could they be your friends?"

Mitsuki stepped forward, and the three young girls stepped backwards in unison, holding each other in fear. "What's wrong with being a shinobi from Konoha?"

"My father told me stories of the past," the girl named Eleanor replied. "Many members of my family were killed by Konoha's forces during the First, Second, and Third Great Ninja Wars, including two of my great-grandparents, and the rest lived in fear of another war."

"And that war is now here," Velvet took over. "The Earth Nation and the Fire Nation are going to invade us." She pointed towards Boruto. "Why else would they be here?"

"We're on your side," Shikadai assured them. "Yes, I admit that my forefathers did terrible things for power…"

"Shikadai!" Boruto objected. "Whose side are you on?"

"It's true, Boruto! Don't deny it! But the terrorizing oppression that was so rampant back then is no longer widespread. And we are trying to make amends for the past crimes Konoha committed against your nation by paying due economic reparations…"

"How are those reparations going to bring back my entire family?!"

Shikadai stopped once he heard Velvet's anger, and he bowed his head in apology. "I'm so sorry to hear that…"

"Velvet," Kirara calmed her down, "he's not the one who killed them. I believe you told me that it was a man named Inuzuka, right? Shikadai and Boruto and Mitsuki, they're all good people, I promise you."

"But Konoha ninja also killed our Amekages before!" Magilou spoke with an obvious, sarcastic doubt in her playful voice. "How could you trust any of them, after what they did to our leaders and our people before?"

"Nagato Uzumaki, your Third Amekage, died by his own wish," Mitsuki countered, "although you do have a point, since Naruto Uzumaki, currently the Seventh Hokage, convinced him to."

"Please… Everyone, please settle down…" Kirara tried to defuse the situation. "These people were the ones who saved my life from the Tsuchikage herself. Remember what I told you guys before? My life in Iwa before I settled down here?"

Her three friends went silent after hearing her revelation. "Yes, they were the ones who helped me live and survive. Without them, I would be dead by now. They are my friends, and I value them a lot, just as I value you three too."

Nearly convinced by Kirakira, Eleanor asked one more time, "Are you sure about these people?"

"We don't necessarily trust them," Magilou added, "but we trust you."

Kirara nodded. "I can vouch for them."

"Fine then," Velvet begrudgingly extended her gauntlet-shielded left hand to Boruto, Shikadai, and Mitsuki. "Welcome to Ame."

Boruto noted that her entire left arm, from her shoulders to her hand, was covered in bandages. "What happened there?"

"The reason why she distrusts everyone from the Land of Fire," Kirara replied to him as she looked to Velvet. "Is it okay if I tell them?"

"If you trust them so much," Velvet replied bluntly and almost angrily, "go ahead."

"It happened roughly two years ago," Kirara explained. "She and her family lived near the border with the Land of Fire back then… Then one day, her whole family was massacred by a group of special ops Konoha policemen, who were led by a high-ranking shinobi by the name of Inuzuka."

Velvet balled both her fists and growled in a fiery rage. "The bastards killed my entire family in front of my eyes. I only survived because my sister and my two maids, in their dying acts, pinned me to the floor and covered me with their own bodies. _'Make sure the family line lives on,'_ they repeatedly told me until they all fell silent. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even cry, since all their weight was on my chest."

"How horrible…" Boruto listened to her and tried to empathize.

"I can't ever forget the smell of my sister's blood trickling into my nose and my mouth… Nor will I forget the sight of those damn Konoha assholes stabbing, and shredding my family to pieces… And that barbaric man I see in my nightmares, Inuzuka, he bit my mom's throat out… And his giant lapdog chopped my dad into pieces and ate everything, even the bones."

_"__Inuzuka… Dog…" _Shikadai's eyes grew wide with his sudden gut feeling. _"Could it be…?"_

Velvet kept recalling the traumatic memories that flooded in. "After they thought they had killed everyone, they set the house's kitchen on fire, to make it look like a gas explosion, then left. The explosion blew everyone off of me, but it left most of my left arm doused in gas. The fire afterwards burned my entire left arm, and would have burned me alive if not for my uncle Amado rescuing me just in time. He and I are the only two survivors of my family, my clan… the Croa."

_"__Amado…"_ Shikadai kept analyzing her testimony. _"Where have I heard that name before?"_

"The Croa Massacre," Eleanor sadly sighed. "And those Konoha bastards haven't paid enough for their crimes yet. Worse, the Hokage is blocking any efforts to investigate the identities of the attackers any further, merely saying that the situation is under their control and that the perpetrators have been kicked out of the service and imprisoned."

"It almost led to a bad diplomatic incident though," countered Shikadai. "If it weren't for Lord Hokage talking things out with Lord Amekage, this would have turned out far uglier than it did."

"Huh?" Boruto was confused. "I can't even remember this happening."

"My point exactly," Shikadai sighed. "Though if I recall correctly, you were out on a big mission near the border of Land of Rivers with both your team and Team 15 at the time, so maybe you just didn't hear about it."

"But still," Magilou pondered aloud in a curious voice, "why would Konoha shinobi attack the Croa family in the first place? The Croa family lived within the Ame borders. They lived near the border city of Marumi, where most of the factories are now, so the attack itself is a clear violation of Rain Nation sovereignty over its own territory. And why would your Hokage cover it up?"

"He didn't cover it up," Boruto tried to defend his father. "My dad isn't like that. He's honorable, and if he says he dealt with the problem internally, he truly did so… but back to my question. You say that your arm was burned years ago, and that's why it's still wrapped in bandages. But why hasn't it healed? It's been two years already."

Velvet fell silent for a second, seeming to hesitate, then responded, "If you're talking about the burns, they've almost all healed. But I keep the bandages anyway because…"

Velvet trailed off, but Kirara took over the explaining. "Her left arm has a certain… mystique to it. None of us can't explain its full power. But it has something to do with a curse seal that she has."

"You have a curse seal?" Mitsuki tried to examine her arm, but she pulled it away.

"It was _'forged by pure hatred and want for vengeance,'_" Velvet finished, sounding as if she quoted somebody. "That was what Uncle Amado constantly tells me… but does that make me an evil person? Wanting to bring about justice and to avenge my family?"

"Velvet, you're a good person deep down inside," Eleanor and Kirara assured her in unison.

Shikadai crossed his arms, silently replaying in his head again and again what he had just heard. Gradually and surely, individual dots of information, seemingly isolated at first, started to connect in his imagination. _"Inuzuka… Giant Dog… Two years ago…"_

In the blink of an eye, Shikadai remembered a conversation he and his parents had around a year and a half ago. He recalled his parents talking about the fact that their old friend Kiba Inuzuka had been suddenly reassigned to another division within the Konoha Police Department, with Shikamaru adding that Kiba was now restricted to the city limits of Konoha. Temari, on the other hand, was speculating on what the cause could have been; maybe he had a fight with his police superior, as he was known to be aggressive at times.

Shikadai, from what little information he had gathered at the time, thought and commented that it was so mysterious, as if something had been covered up. But he put it to the back of mind afterwards since he had many other things to deal with, especially with his clan elder still stubbornly pressing on him to enter politics. But now that Shikadai put his entire mind to it, everything began to click and make sense in his head. And the final nail in the coffin was Shikadai finally remembering where he had heard the name "Amado" before. Metal's dad, Rock Lee, had told Shikamaru and Shikadai that a certain Amado was the one who killed Kiba, and that even Rock Lee had opined that it was rather deserved, which puzzled Shikadai until now.

"I… I know who killed your clan…" Shikadai slowly concluded out loud, overwhelmed with what he had figured out, "…Kiba Inuzuka."

"What? No… He couldn't…" Boruto objected, but one look at Velvet's face confirmed Shikadai's theory.

"That name…" Velvet's face began to contort and tremble, the anger and rage obviously welling up inside her. She let out an outraged, growling cry that frightened the other six beside her, and the bandages covering her left arm suddenly loosened. A split-second later, they stretched violently and unraveled, and Boruto, Shikadai, and Mitsuki saw a now-huge, pulsing, black and red, demonic-looking arm erupting out of the falling white bandages.

The demon arm burst out of its bandages, and its sharp claws clenched tightly all the way around Shikadai's chest. She effortlessly and ruthlessly lifted him up into the air, and her squeezing vice grip began to visibly drain Shikadai, not only of his chakra, but seemingly his entire life force and energy. His face and arms shriveled up, as if they were fruits being sapped dry of all water in them. "How do you know him? Is he your friend?"

"She's sucking the life out of him!" Boruto shouted and rushed forward, only to be stopped by Eleanor.

"Unless you want the same thing to happen to you," she warned him while pointing her spear to his chest, "I can't allow you to go near Velvet right now."

Magilou stood in front of Mitsuki to block his path as well, but Mitsuki did not make any move. In fact, he seemed curious to what Velvet was doing, and he let her continue withering Shikadai away. "It's like Sumire's dark chakra snakes," he observed nonchalantly, "except they're red and black, and they're visible to everybody."

Almost immediately, Kirara grabbed hold of Velvet's shoulders and trapped her in her gaze. Her sparkling purple eyes glowed iridescently, and Boruto realized she was putting a genjutsu on Velvet to calm her down. "Velvet… snap out of it…"

Velvet's eyes grew wide, and she dropped Shikadai before falling to the ground herself. Magilou ran to tend to Velvet, while Eleanor rushed to heal a gasping Shikadai with her basic medical ninjutsu. His skin regained its color, and his face regained its vitality.

"Sorry…" Velvet apologized, her demon arm shrinking and morphing back into a normal size, although it was still much darker than the rest of her exposed skin. "I lost myself for a second there…"

She grabbed the fallen bandages and quickly rewrapped them around her blackened arm, up from her shoulder, down to her elbow, then her wrist, and finally until her fingers. She then sighed apologetically and looked at Boruto. "That's why it's in bandages…"

"No need to worry," Shikadai replied, helped back to his feet by Eleanor. "My dad had an experience like that too with a guy named Hidan. But I think you should know… during the Battle of Konoha two weeks ago… Amado killed Kiba Inuzuka."

"Uncle Amado!" Velvet looked at him, sighed in relief, and then genuinely smiled. "He deserved it… My family… the Croa clan… avenged…"

After Velvet's violent outburst, the entire group fell into an awkward silence, broken only by Kirara after a few minutes of walking. "My house is close by," she informed everyone, "just around the bend now."

"How long have all of you been friends?" Boruto asked Kirara.

Kirara hummed in thought. "Hmm… Eleanor has been my best friend for the longest time, ever since the time I got into ASU. She was my first friend in class, and we live close to each other so we walk home a lot. Then Magilou joined up with us about a third into that first semester, so we became a trio. And then-"

"You conveniently forget to tell them that I was a loner back then," Magilou added with her unique, playful, eclectic mix of sass and matter-of-factness, "and more importantly, about the fact that we literally are only two houses apart."

"Okay, the loner part was because absolutely nobody understood your personality at first. But yes, the reason why you became part of the group was because we always walked home together."

"Now for Velvet," Kirara continued as they rounded the bend of the street and her home came into view. It was a modest two-floor house, with several side lamps and some curtained windows. It also had slanting steel roofing that was colored sky blue, and its exterior walls painted with an eclectic mix; carnation pink for outside of the first floor, and sunlight yellow for the outside of the second floor. "Velvet had long been friends with both Eleanor and Magilou, and eventually I became friends with her about a year ago because of the mutual connection. At first, since she lived in Marumi, we would just accompany her to the train station after class ended for the day."

"But then Uncle Amado left to join Kara," Velvet added, "and I moved to Ame."

"Now our goal is to become the first four-woman team in Ame history," Eleanor informed them giddily as she raised her fist in the air.

"Four? Why four?" Shikadai asked, puzzled by the odd even number of genin-to-be in the hopeful squad.

Boruto too was confused. "Three is the standard in the great nations, plus one sensei, right? Why is it different here?"

"Four ninjas has been the standard here in Ame for a while now," Magilou explained in her playful high-pitched voice, "because Ame is short on full time, exclusive senseis. So since not all groups can have senseis, a fourth ninja is added instead. There are quite restrictions on the mission types and mission ranks we can take, as well as places that we are allowed to go to for missions, of course. But that aside, it's still going to be so much fun! And besides, Kirakira is basically going to take the role as team captain, or even 'sensei' anyway. She has the most combat experience after all."

"And when was that decided?" Kirara snickered as she stepped in front of her door. She closed her new umbrella, with the wet side being folded inwards, so there wouldn't be any splashing.

Eleanor proudly added, "She told us stories about her involvement in the Iwa Coup, and her battles against both Iwa shinobi, the Tsuchikage, and Konoha shinobi, you guys being the Konoha shinobi she was talking about."

"Sharp memory for a 4 year old," Shikadai quipped.

"With the mind of a 15-year old, mind you." She took out her keys from her black handbag, unlocked the door, and opened it. "Come in."

The girls all went inside first, with the three friends of Kirara immediately going into her living room to plop down on the sofas and stuffed animals. Boruto took one step inside the house and was already amazed by his surroundings. "So many stuffed animals…"

"Light pinkish paint on your walls, with dark purple for the ceiling, and some glitter for stars as well. It's a lovely house," Shikadai appraised.

Kirara replied, "The color scheme was originally white and blue, but then I had it renovated and repainted more than a year ago."

"If it isn't obvious," Magilou pointed out, "I was the one who helped repaint it."

"Yeah," Velvet laughed and teased, feeling much better now, "you look like you're actually camouflaged right now."

"How dare you," Magilou playfully and non-seriously replied, feigning hurt with her dramatic, over-the-top actions, and her high-pitched voice. "You monstrous fiend! Color discrimination! I will sue you for defamation!" The girls all shared a hearty laugh afterwards.

"It's still more spacious than my apartment," Mitsuki noted in response to Shikadai while examining the rooms, "and so much brighter too." He then looked to Kirara. "Have you ever thought of letting someone else live here with you? It could fit two, maybe three people."

Kirara shook her head. "Not yet, though Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou have all slept over here Aside from these three, my other friends in school, and the Amekage, I'm not yet sure who I can trust with knowing what and who I really am."

"Though if you would want to come over and stay for a while," she offered, "or some other time in the future, I guess I could agree. After all, I do owe my new life to you guys."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Sumire sat on her former bed, softly ran her hand on top of the familiar silky bed sheets and feeling them out. She closed her eyes and reminisced the times when she ran away from her abusive father and her old and lonely home, the nights that she ended up spending here and sleeping here, under the old lady Konan's caring watch.

In front of her, Sarada inspected the old wooden bookshelf and the hardbound books on it, while Wasabi and Namida looked out the window and admired the view from high above Ame. "Too bad Chocho and the others are just on the fifth floor dining area," Wasabi lamented. "They're missing this awesome view."

Namida added, "It's like we're 10 stories up!"

"We're only on the seventh floor," Sumire corrected the giddy Namida. "The tenth floor is the room of the Amekage himself, while the eight and ninth floors are for his family, close friends, and dignified guests, if any. That means that most of us will be sleeping one or two floors up later tonight. Good news for you, I'm sure."

"Living on the seventh floor back then must have meant that you were a friend of the Amekage," Sarada concluded.

Sumire shook her head. "Not quite. The seventh floor used to be the spare bedrooms. Old Lady Konan used to tell me that, years ago when Ame was poorer and still polluted, if there was anyone in need of a place to stay for a night, they would be allowed to sleep in one of the bedrooms for free."

"However, since the socio-economic reforms of my son, the Sixth Amekage Yahikonan, there hasn't been much need for them."

The four kunoichi were slightly startled by the gentle voice and looked at the doorway to find Konan smiling at them, like a mother would to her own children. "Sumire dear… I still remember letting you into this tower all those years ago," she continued as she went inside and sat on the rocking chair near the corner and the window-side. "You were still a little girl back then, scared hopeless, and wet from the rain and the tears, coughing from the cold and smoggy air. How the times have changed."

"Denki filled us in about the recent events in the Land of Rain," Wasabi replied to her. "It's no small feat that he was able to effect all these changes so successfully."

Sumire added happily, "I'm sure you're proud of your son for all he's accomplished, and in such a short time too."

Konan laughed and grinned. "Of course I am! I'm also so happy that my beloved country is rising and continuously changing for the better. After all it went through in the past, the Land of Rain and its people deserve it."

"The Land of Rain was always in the line of fire from the major countries during the past Great Ninja Wars, right?"

Konan nodded and asked, "Would you like me to tell the story of Ame? From the very beginning until now?"

"We're not busy," Namida pointed out, "nor are we not hungry yet. We might as well listen."

"Agreed," Sarada concurred. "Go on, Lady Konan."

Konan inhaled deeply, obviously trying to remember a lot of the important details. "The First Amekage, Pugad Lawin, declared the independence of the Land of Rain from the Land of Fire almost 85 years ago. His declaration of freedom in Ame is what we now call "The Roar of Balin Tawak"; Balin Tawak, by the way, is the Old Earth name of the exact place where the declaration happened, the stony hill near Ame Lake overlooking the entire city. In any case, this event was one of the major reasons why the First Great Ninja War occurred in the first place. The Land of Fire, led by the Second Hokage in Konoha, tried to invade us and reabsorb us back into their so-called great nation, but they failed epically. The Second Hokage was killed shortly before the war ended, and we even ended up gaining territory from the Land of Fire; the area where the city of Marumi now stands used to be part of the Land of Fire, but was ceded to us in the peace treaty that ended the First Great Ninja War."

"That was so long ago," Sarada commented. "Eighty-five years, huh?"

"Eighty-four and a half," Konan corrected. "Even I wasn't alive yet back then. I was born twelve years into Hanzo's reign, or 55 years ago. Speaking of Hanzo of the Salamander, he was the Second Amekage. He succeeded Pugad Lawin, who had died after 17 years in power. Hanzo… he was a strong and widely feared shinobi, yet also a brutal dictator, and he loved to oppress the poor and the defenseless. It was during his time when Ame was pulled into both the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. During the Second Great War, he defended the Land of Rain against an entire Konoha army, killing everyone but the three ninja that he called the "Three Sannin". It was during this war that Yahiko, Nagato, and I all had the chance to train under one of the Three Sannin, Jiraiya, and this influenced our worldviews a whole lot. After the Three Sannin left and the Second War ended, the three of us decided to devote our lives to help uplift the poor and the oppressed, and so we formed the original Akatsuki organization to achieve that goal."

"Akatsuki!" Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida all froze.

Sarada hesitantly asked Konan, "So you guys were the group that my uncle joined?"

"If you're talking about Itachi Uchiha, then yes. But that was at a much later date."

Sumire also inquired, "And you were the ones whom Lord Seventh, his friends, and the entire Allied Shinobi Forces, fought against?"

"No. That was a corrupted version of the original Akatsuki that Tobi… Obito Uchiha led. Anyway, please remember your questions, and I'll try to answer them after I'm done."

Konan kept rocking her chair back and forth. "By the time of the Third Great Ninja War, the Akatsuki had grown strong. We were able to effectively serve the people of this country, defend its land against enemy incursions, and attract more volunteers and potential new members to the group. Hanzo was at first delighted to have us as the opium to his masses. He loved that we helped them endure their daily lives, and that we drew attention away from his brutal and corrupt rule. However, there came a point when we became too powerful and influential even for him to control, so he betrayed us. He and Danzo Shimura set us up."

"Danzo…" Sumire held her hand to her chest. "The one that dad… no, that Tanuki Shigaraki idolized. The one who caused me all this pain."

"I see you haven't forgiven your dad yet," Konan acknowledged. "Don't worry, I won't either, after everything that you told me he did to you."

Sarada noted to Konan, "I was told by my parents that Danzo manipulated Hanzo to eliminate the Akatsuki, whom he saw as a threat to Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Konan thought about it, and then nodded. "Probably. I'm sure that both Danzo and Hanzo were cruel, and that they misled themselves and the people around them to think that their own nation alone must be served, with no regard to the effects of any other countries or peoples. In any case, where was I?"

"The part where you were betrayed," Wasabi noted. "What happened?"

"Ah yes… During the Third Great Ninja War, Hanzo requested our help for an important mission, apparently to take more land from the Land of Fire. But it was all a set up. He captured me and took me hostage, had all the other members at the time killed, and forced Yahiko to commit suicide to save me. That's when Nagato and I resolved to change the Land of Rain, and the world if we could, by any means necessary."

_"__Nagato,"_ Sarada wondered inside her head, _"where have I heard that name before? Where have I…?"_

"We regrouped as an organization within the darkness. We no longer concerned ourselves about the morality of what we did. We focused on making sure that the outcomes benefited our organization and the country as a whole; for us, the end now justified the means. So we recruited outlaws and became even more powerful than before. By the end of the Third Great Ninja War, we had begun the Ame Civil War, and we ended Hanzo's 30-year reign of terror. In the final battle, Nagato and I stormed Hanzo's heavily guarded mansion, overthrew him, and then Nagato personally executed him. Nagato Uzumaki then became the Third Amekage, and I was his right hand woman… and eventually, his wife."

_"__Nagato Uzumaki!"_ Sarada finally made progress with her attempts to remember who Nagato was. _"But… who was he again? I'm sure he had some connection to Lord Hokage… but what exactly?"_

"For 16 years, Nagato Uzumaki and I strived to make life easier for our people, and we were able to make the people happy. They were able to live their lives free of oppression from their own government, and relatively free from the oppression from other countries, even from the powerful Five Great Nations which surrounded us."

Namida tried to connect the dots. "Wait, so the Sixth Amekage, Yahikonan, is the son of Nagato Uzumaki… and you, Lady Konan… Uzumaki? That's your last name now, correct?"

"Yes," Konan answered her. "Uzumaki is my last name because I married into the Uzumaki family. And yes as well, Yahikonan's last name is also Uzumaki."

Sumire asked, "That makes you, Nagato, and the Sixth Amekage all related to Lord Seventh and Boruto-kun, right?"

Konan laughed. "Somewhat distant relations, but yes, we are all related. Nagato and I even fought against Naruto in a famous battle more than two decades ago, but we made up afterwards… I hope… I joined forces with Naruto and fought for his ideals of peace too."

_"__Nagato and Konan fought against Naruto… around 2 decades ago… a famous battle…"_ That was when the realization struck Sarada, who gasped audibly. "PAIN! Nagato Uzumaki was Pain!"

"Yes," Konan responded, "he was Pain. And I was his angel."

Wasabi remembered her parents telling her stories of their experiences during Pain's Assault. "The one with the two Rinnegan eyes, right?"

"I'm sure your parents and grandparents have all told you stories about Pain's Assault on Konoha. In any case, we've apologized extensively for it, and as a sign of contrition, we've given money as continued subsidies to Konoha's city coffers to fund the city's growth and expansion. I haven't talked to Naruto in such a long time, around five years ago during your first mission here. Before that, it had been more than fifteen years. But for the short time we spoke together again five years ago, he seemed cordial, kind, and happy. Hopefully we get another chance to talk again soon."

Sumire added, "Pain… Nagato Uzumaki gave his life to restore Konoha and its people to their former states before his attack, right?"

"Correct, Sumire dear. He used the ability of his Rinnegan to bring back the lives of everyone who had died in Konoha. When my Nagato died, I succeeded him and became the Fourth Amekage, and I made a peace with Naruto, wherein we promised that neither of our countries would attack the other any more, and that we would always strive for a peaceful solution for any dispute. The promise we made that day, "The Promise of Perpetual Peace", still stands to this day… That was the day I left the Akatsuki… But Akatsuki… or rather, Obito Uchiha, wasn't done with me yet…"

By that moment, the four girls had all sat down on Sumire's old bed, all of them hooked on and listening attentively to Konan's story. "When Obito declared the Fourth Great Ninja War, I had only been Amekage for about two and a half years. But I knew he would come for me, since he needed the Rinnegan eyes that Nagato still had for his plan of forming the Ten-Tailed Beast to succeed. So I prepared six hundred billion paper bombs under the Ame Lake as a trap for him. That should have been enough to kill him."

"Six… hundred billion… paper bombs…" The glint in Namida's eyes shone brightly.

"But it didn't work," Konan clarified. "He survived by sacrificing his Sharingan, using the Izanagi jutsu. And then he killed me."

The four girls fell silent, mouths agape, eyes confused. For a while, none of the five people in the room spoke, and an awkward silence settled in Sumire's old room. Finally, Namida broke the quietness. "But Lady Konan… you're still alive… how could you be alive if he killed you?"

"Is this some kind of morbid joke that we don't get?" Wasabi asked.

Sarada suggested, "Or did you mean it metaphorically? Did you die to your former self? Or something like that?"

In response, Konan opened up her kimono dress and showed them the old circular scar on her chest, very close to her heart. She then lifts her neck and shows slightly darkened choke marks around her throat, marks that had been faded away by time. "This is not a joke. This is no metaphor."

Konan then attempted to explain what happened, or at least what she remembered and what she was told had happened. "After my death, my best friend Risha Brunel became the Fifth Amekage. In addition, she was also the caretaker of my son Yahikonan, who was born a year before our Assault on Konoha. You've seen Risha already; she was the green-haired lady who welcomed you at Ame's gates, since she's the head of the Rain's Watch."

Namida answered, "She seemed like a nice and cheery person."

"She really is," Konan chuckled. "In any case, they told me that when I died, most of the papers that made up my entire body flew in the wind, and ended up landing in so many disparate places. Some even flew across the entire continent, apparently. But a few paper cells stayed in Ame. And one day, Risha and Yahikonan saw some papers hovering about near this very tower. The two of them told me that the papers were flying into each other and piling up, and Risha knew it was me because she recognized the distinct shape and markings on my paper cells. They brought the papers inside and placed it in my former room on the ninth floor."

"But then a funny thing happened."

Sarada, Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida, all turned to see the Sixth Amekage, Yahikonan himself, leaning against the door. The four Konoha kunoichi stood up and bowed in a sign of respect, but he waved them off. "No need for that. Please, sit down."

After sitting down, Sarada inquired, "Lord Sixth Amekage, what exactly happened?"

"Once we saw those clumps of paper that Aunt Risha said was a memory of my mom, Aunt Risha and I made it our mission to collect and recover all the pieces of paper that she had dissipated into."

"But… how many pieces-"

"Around two million," answered Konan proudly, to the bewilderment of the four Konoha ninja. "2,250,000 to be exact."

"How did you expect to get all of her pieces back together?"

"Please don't judge me," Yahikonan requested, "I was only seven at the time. I was just so determined to get Mom back, even if it was just her paper pieces. Of course at first, it seemed to be a long, arduous, near impossible task. If ever we did complete the task, it would have probably taken decades under normal circumstances, and we would have had to pay substantial bounties and rewards for each piece of paper out of our own territory, though we were completely fine with that."

"However, what ended up happening was that when we took those clumps of paper into Mom's room, I personally remember counting ten or eleven individual cells. But the next day, when Aunt Risha and I came into the room, I saw that there were now thirteen. I thought that I simply miscounted, but right as I was about to leave the room, we saw a fourteenth cell come flying in through the open window and neatly clump together with the other papers. When Aunt Risha checked it, she confirmed that it was also one of Mom's pieces. That's when we hypothesized that the cells of paper themselves had some special property that sort of called and attracted them only to each other and to nothing else. Something like gravity, or an attractive electromagnetic force, or whatnot."

"Yahikonan here can tell the rest of the story," Konan noted. "He has a good memory, not to mention he was actually present all that time. My memory is limited only to the exact point when I came back and afterwards, and Risha and my son just tried to fill me in after the fact."

At that moment, Sumire had a flashback to a bedtime story that Konan had told her one particularly stormy night a decade ago, after one of the many times she had run away from her father and his constant abuse. It was an interesting story about a paper flower being destroyed, but then recycled and made new again. At the time, she did not yet understand the true meaning of the story; she was merely a scared and traumatized six-year-old child who yearned for love. But now, the significance of the story finally dawned on her. "Paper can be recycled, right Old Lady Konan?"

"I see you still remember that bedtime story from long ago," Konan reminisced with a smile. "And I take it that you know its true meaning now, since you brought it up. And yes, you are correct. Paper can in fact be recycled and given new life again."

Yahikonan recalled the events that occurred between eleven and nineteen years ago. "It soon became apparent that the more and more paper pieces we collected and gathered together in the room, the denser and more powerful the attraction was, which is why I compared it to gravity. Remember, a denser object has stronger gravity than a less dense object, albeit this force was somehow selective and only attracted mother's papers and not just any other papers. Eventually, there came a point when every day, Mom's cells of papers would come flying in to her room all the way up to the ninth floor of the tower."

"Around eight years after Mom was killed, the last of her paper cells flew into the room. Aunt Risha and I were both in the room when it happened, and when the last of them came and settled on the pile, a bright light shone from the papers… the papers began to sort themselves… and my Mommy came back to me…"

"That being said," Konan butted in as she felt her chest, "it felt differently when I was 'recycled'; even up to now, I don't feel the same as I did before I was killed. My emotions have some blank spaces, and so does my short-term memory. It is as if I lost part of myself in the process…"

"At least you came back," Yahikonan countered, with the obvious tears of happiness threatening to burst the dams that were his eyelids. "Ame still needs you, Aunt Risha still needs you, and I still need you."

"That also might just come with aging," Sumire suggested. "Especially the memory loss."

"Maybe you are right," Konan admitted. "I don't know much about it either. But anyway, after my son and Risha brought me back, Risha immediately stepped down as the Fifth Amekage and gave the mantle of Amekage back to me. In her nearly twelve years in power, Ame had begun to further modernize and finally open up to the outside world. She allowed Ame to join the Shinobi Union, but insisted on the condition that she and all future leaders of the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and Land of Waterfalls, would be officially called as fellow Kages."

"After Risha," she winded down and neared the end of her story, "I was again the Fourth Amekage for 5 years; I mainly continued her policies while formulating new rules regarding the pollution in the city of Ame. I began preparations to move the factories to the newly planned city of Marumi, as well as decentralize the country to spread some of its concentrations of power and economic resources to Yaman, Liwayway, and the other towns. But I left the implementation of that final part of that plan to my son, who became the Sixth Amekage 6 years ago at the age of 20. He was the one ultimately responsible for the factories moving out of Ame, the resulting clean environment of Ame now, as well as helping the other cities and towns of the country prosper and grow."

Konan then stood up and stretched. "And that is where we are now as a nation: Prospering and growing stronger and more united. Now, I'll go downstairs to make sure you guys have some more food for your dinner."

"I'll help cook," the Sixth Amekage insisted and hugged his mother as she passed by him. "In reality," he explained to the four, "she's worried that a certain friend of yours might have eaten everything we cooked for dinner and left none for you."

The four friends all giggled amongst each other. "Don't worry Lord Sixth, we're used to Chocho."

The mother and son duo laughed along with them before they headed downstairs. "Still, come downstairs to eat dinner soon. It's almost 7:00."

As Sumire lay down on her old bed, Sarada and Wasabi followed suit, and the three of them enjoyed feeling the silky fabric of the bed sheets. "It's so comfy," Wasabi purred and nestled in as only a cat would. "Sumire, can we sleep here instead?"

Sarada laughed. "Wasabi, I'm sure the beds upstairs were even better. The ones upstairs are tailor-made for foreign guests, after all."

"Still," Wasabi insisted, "this bed just feels more comfortable for me. And I'm sure Sumire will sleep here again just for the nostalgia, am I right?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet," Sumire replied, "but it is tempting."

Meanwhile, Namida sat on the old rocking chair and shifted her weight back and forth to enjoy the constant rhythmic, almost pendulum-like motion.

"Hey Namida," Wasabi asked in a sultry voice and matching pose, "won't you come here to me?"

"Wasabi!" Namida blushed and looked away. "Not in front of them…"

"I didn't necessarily mean it that way," Wasabi stuck out her tongue.

Namida looked back at Wasabi, who held her pose, and relented within the second. She jumped up from the chair and joined them on the bed. The four released their stress and anxiety by having a pillow fight and hiding under the smooth yellow and blue blanket. The girls finally were able to act normal and have fun again, after a few days of endless marching, travelling, and sleeping on rugged terrain under the open night sky.

"I bet Namida misses Konoha already," Wasabi sighed as they settled down and put their pillow-weapons down.

"Not yet," Namida revealed. "In fact, I'm dreading it… I don't have anywhere to return home to once we go back, remember?"

"I'm sure my parents will let you live with us," Wasabi assured her girlfriend. "Or you can stay over at Sumire's place; I'm sure that you will love having a roommate, right Sumire?"

Sumire nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I would! But I'm also sure that Sarada would be okay with taking you in as well."

"I'd have to ask my parents about that," Sarada replied. "But if both Wasabi and I ask, I'm sure my mom would be happy to. She would trust the both of us."

Immediately afterwards, Wasabi's stomach growled and grumbled audibly, followed by Sarada's. "Woah…" Namida laughed. "I think that's our cue to eat dinner."

The four kunoichi walked out of the room and down two flights of stairs to get to the fifth floor dining room, where they met up with nearly everyone else in their regiment, even the three boys she had sent out earlier. Only Kakashi and Denki were not present at the tables.

"Guys!" Boruto ran up to Sarada, and the shine in his eyes made it obvious to Sarada and Sumire that he had quite the story to tell.

"You're back," Sarada greeted them. "Did you get food and supplies?"

"We bought some food like grilled squid, steaks, and pork chops, among other things," Shikadai answered while he and Inojin were both trying to keep Chocho's hands off of the bag full of food.

"On the other hand," Mitsuki added, "there wasn't much to buy for supplies. No tools that we didn't already have, although I did buy some medical gels and first aid kits on the way back here…"

"But that's not the most important part," interrupted Boruto. "We bumped into Kirara a while ago at the market! We even got to visit her house, pass by her school, and meet her friends!"

Chocho stopped trying to get the food and stared at Boruto and Shikadai. "What? Really?"

"Oh yeah," Sarada remembered. "She lives here now! How is she?"

"She's officially fully human now," Mitsuki explained. "She has all the necessary organ systems to maintain a healthy life-"

"Her bandages are all gone," Boruto quickly took over from Mitsuki's attempt to describe Kirara's current anatomy, "but her skin is still pale, and her huge top hat and dark clothing remain."

"Not to mention she has a new name," Shikadai smirked. "Guess what it is."

"NO…" Inojin looked at Boruto. "Did she follow your suggestion?"

Sarada grabbed Boruto by the collar of his shirt. "I swear! If her name is now 'Tiger Festival', you're dead Boruto-"

"Her new name's Kirakira," Shikadai finished his sentence. Sarada quickly let go of Boruto and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're talking about Kirakira Iwatani?" Boruto, Sarada, and the others who had met Kirara before looked to Yahikonan, who was serving freshly cooked food to them. "Ah! You six must be her friends from Konoha! The ones who saved her from Lady Tsuchikage, correct?"

Boruto beamed. "Yes, we were the ones who helped her escape the Land of Earth and reach Ame."

"Ignoring the fact that Chocho tried to kill her at first," Inojin added, much to her chagrin.

"Hey! Once I figured out that she was a good person at heart, I helped her too!"

"And we're really thankful that you did," Sarada told her chubby friend and smiled.

Yahikonan continued as he put the plates on the table for the newcomers, "And Boruto, you said that you three passed by Ame State University earlier? Did she tell you guys that we advanced her so far that she's in High School already?"

"Yup, she mentioned she was in Second Year, Class A. And we also met her three best friends… including one of the Croa clan."

"Ohh… Velvet Croa, I take it? Sadly, justice still has yet to be served for that bloody massacre. And yes, Naruto already informed me during the recent Shinobi Union summit that the main perpetrator, Kiba Inuzuka, was killed in battle, and by Amado Croa no less. Still, I hope that the other perpetrators will be put to justice as well-"

"Everyone!" Suddenly, in barged Kakashi and Denki to the dining room. "We've been contacted by Konoha," Denki panted. "The war's begun!"

Kakashi read the announcement from Denki's laptop. "The order is: We proceed with the preset mission objectives immediately, with utmost care, caution, and secrecy."

He then gave the laptop back to Denki, and addressed the Konoha ninjas. "I'd like us to leave at dawn tomorrow. Is that alright with everyone?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei!"

"If you're leaving early tomorrow," Konan suggested to the young Konoha ninja around her, "I suggest you sleep early tonight, maybe 11 at the latest. The earliest train to Spur leaves at 4:45, so we'll wake you up before then. The train ride to Spur, at the foot of the Mile-High Mountains, should itself last around an hour."

Yahikonan nodded and added more information. "Once you reach the town of Spur, it will be a harsh and arduous six hour hike up the Spur Trail to reach the Hod and Feres Passes of Mount Tirad."

* * *

_**How did you guys like it? The Fifth Great Ninja War has officially begun! Kirakira has a new life, new friends, and is really happy in Ame! And Konan and Yahikonan explained the history of the Land of Rain (at least, what I was able to make)! What did you guys think about my full-blown detailed AF history? World-building and history-building is truly something I enjoy hehee ^_^**_

_**I also partly tied Velvet, one of Kirakira's BFF's now, to what Kiba did that got him killed by Amado (aka: the Croa Massacre). However, what spurred him to commit this murder? It remains a mystery, but rest assured that it will be revealed one day =O**_

_**This should be the last of the chapters that deal with expanding the story, further world-building, and setting plot points and characters for the future stories (Remember, this is only Book 1 out of 7 XD). After this chapter, it'll go downhill quite quickly! Expect lots of action, drama, and feels =O**_

_**The next chapter, Chapter 19: "Into Thin Air", will focus on the initial stages of the 25-person-strong Konoha Squadron's mission (aka: climbing Mount Tirad, setting up their base on the mountain, surveying, surveillance, etc). On the other hand, Chapter 20 will be entitled, "The Strength To Protect". No teaser or any other info available for it yet; I'll give the teaser for it next time XD**_


	19. Into Thin Air

**_Welcome back to A Tale of Grace, my loyal readers! How have you all been? I cannot thank you all enough for keeping up with my story, it means so so so much to me! I love you all! ^_^_**

**_Anyway, I'm back with the next chapter! This should be the longest chapter of the story, unless Chapter 20 (I'm still not done writing it yet, at this point) exceeds it. Still, it should be a fun read in my opinion! And that ending! =O_**

**_Enjoy this latest chapter! And please leave comments or reviews, and kudos or favorites, and subscriptions or follows! These always help me become a better author! (NOTE: except reviews by triggered conservative trolls, like whoever Trey O.S. Harrison was, of course XD)_**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Into Thin Air**

"Wake up… Boruto… Sarada…"

Boruto's heavy eyes slowly opened, and once their initial blurriness cleared, he saw the shining, joyous purple orbs of Sumire right in front of him. It looked like she had been trying to wake him up. He looked around and saw Sarada beginning to stir from her sleep as well, while Mitsuki was already wide-awake and looking out the window.

Boruto's groggy and sleep-deprived mind was barely even able to recall what had happened the previous night. On one hand, the girls had all gone to bed at around 11 as had been recommended by their hosts the night before, and so they had enough sleep, if one could actually call five hours of sleep enough. Meanwhile, most of the boys had gone to sleep past 1 o'clock in the early morning, since they spent their free time playing with their Shinobi Bout card games and the Game of the Generals board game that Shikadai had smuggled along with the rest of his belongings. Due to their decision to not sleep early, the boys had less than three hours of sleep, since they were all woken up at exactly 4:00 am. They then boarded the train to Spur at about 4:40, and the train departed from Ame not later than 5 minutes later. Because of the darkness and silence in the compartment, and the smooth ride of the train, most of the Konoha squadron had fallen right back asleep soon after leaving Ame.

"Sumire?" Boruto asked softly and sleepily. "What is it?"

Sarada, whose mind was sharper and quicker due to having slept more the night before, followed with another question. "What time is it already, Sumire? Are we already at Spur?"

"It's 5:40," Sumire responded. "We're around five to ten minutes out from Spur." She then pointed at the glass window. "But look at this view…"

Boruto and Sarada joined Mitsuki and Sumire in looking out into the darkness outside their train carriage. The clouds high above were beginning to turn reddish pink. And from their glow, the four close friends saw jagged crags appearing to jut out into the opaqueness, the mountain peaks of the Mile-High Range in front of the backdrop of the fading night.

"It's… beautiful…" Sarada commented. "I can feel my breath being taken away… what a sight…"

Sumire concurred. "How much more majestic will it look like, once we're on the mountains already?"

All of a sudden, the brakes of the train started to activate, and the four Konoha ninja felt as if they were being pulled ever-so-slightly towards the front of the train by an invisible hand, a weak force that they knew from their past physics classes in the Konoha Academy to be inertia in action. "Looks like we'll find out soon enough," Boruto noted.

The train slowed further and further as it neared the lights of Spur, and at the same time, the sky began to be lit by dawn's fantastic colors. Sumire excused herself from Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki, and then walked to the others to wake them up. Within the next minute, the train turned one last time and entered the town. It passed by the modernist steel and glass structure of the train station and finally came to a halt.

_"__You have arrived at your destination,"_ the train's public address system blared,_ "the Town of Spur. Please take care when exiting the train. Please watch your step and mind the gap. And please make sure to bring all your belongings with you. Rain-ways is not liable for any losses. Thank you for riding Rain-ways! We give our everything to bring you everywhere!"_

The sleepy Konoha squadron filed out of the train and into Spur Station. Everyone passed through the turnstiles, inserting their tickets into the machine to be allowed to pass. When the entire group had gone through the turnstiles, they walked through the lobby of the station and exited the station. Once outside, the icy fog of their breaths was visible, indicative of the cold mountainous environment they were in.

For a while, the group took in their surroundings. The soon-to-be-city of Spur was dimly lit by dawn's early light, but in the midst of the thin fog from passing clouds, it also shone in an ethereal glow because of its many old-fashioned yellow streetlights. Spur was a large town that was spread out on the foot of Mount Tirad in the Mile-High Mountain Range. The seven long main roads, all of varying lengths, followed a roughly 25-30 meter high interval between each other. While some of the pathways between the main avenues were steep, most of the streets and walkways were long, curved, winding roads, adapting to the contours of the area rather than trying to force the shortest route possible. Snow had piled up around a foot deep in the areas of Spur closest to the mountain, while the parts of Spur farther away from the mountainside still had some resilient green grass that was fed life by the rainfall of this region, which was much more intermittent and forgiving than it was in the capital city of Ame.

"According to my map… Sorry hold on," Denki stopped himself and rubbed his eyes, then his eyeglasses, then finally the screen of his phone, all of which had fogged up due to the cold. "The Spur Trail begins at the highest point of the seventh and topmost main road, aptly named Seventh Avenue." He pointed at the avenue in question, rising high above where they stood. "We're on the third lowest main road, Third Avenue, so we need to walk quite a ways up."

"Alright then," Kakashi said to his large group of shinobi and kunoichi. "It's 3 minutes before 6 o'clock. I'd like to climb up the mountain when there's more light to guide our way. And anyways, I'm sure a lot of you are too tired and sleepy right now to climb safely. Some of us might get into bad accidents, or fall of the mountain, or into deep crevasses, never to be seen again." He eyed the boys, who nervously gulped and shuddered as one collective group.

"The last thing I'd want is for your parents, not to mention Lord Hokage, to blame me for your deaths," he admitted, albeit with a sarcastic tone in his voice. "So here's what I propose: Let's all meet up at the entrance to the Spur Trail at 7 o'clock. I'll give you all an hour to wake yourselves up and get acclimatized to the altitude somewhat. The air will get thinner the higher we climb, so it's important for you to help your lungs get used to the thinner air right now. Travel as teams so that nobody gets lost, and stay inside the town, of course. In the meantime, I'll speak with the mayor of Spur. Are all of my instructions clear?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei," replied everyone in the group, aside from Chocho who raised her hand.

"Can we go to coffee shops or bakeries or milk tea stores? Please?"

"That's fine by me," Kakashi chuckled. "As long as you have enough money on you. I'm not the one paying for your tabs."

"YES!" Chocho cheered, the transition from sleepy to lively happening in less than a few seconds. "Everyone, let's go!"

"This is happening more and more often now," a surprised Inojin responded, "but I agree with you there. I need some sugar to wake up."

"See you guys in an hour," Kakashi reminded them just before most of the younger generation rushed by him.

"Follow me!" Chocho took point. "I can smell the coffee, milk tea, and freshly baked bread and cookies from here."

"You're like a hunting dog," Boruto snipped, "but for food."

"Shouldn't Chocho be on a leash then?" Mitsuki absent-mindedly took Boruto's bait. Chocho heard Mitsuki, but the allure of the warm food and drinks drew her mind far away from Mitsuki's accidental insult. Instead, she led her friends to the Fourth Avenue, the road that approximately marked the midline of the large town. Restaurants and coffee shops of all kinds lined the street, and the smell of warm, freshly made food and drinks was prevalent. Chocho stopped in front of one particular modern-looking building that had multiple establishments inside.

"No way! There's TeaSome, StarBombs Coffee, and even G.R.'s MasterBakers here?" Chocho sighed with pleasure, relishing the freshly baked bread, hot chocolate, sugary milk tea, and delightful addicting coffee that would soon be inside her stomach. "I think I'm in heaven…" She nearly fainted right then and there, but her friends kept her upright and led her inside the early-opening restaurants.

After students and senseis alike ate their breakfast meals and rid themselves of their lingering drowsiness, Denki proposed that they use the remaining time to buy and gather what additional supplies they could, like more oxygen tanks, breathing masks, batteries for their lights, and emergency shots of adrenaline that would be needed to fight against possible hypothermia and high-altitude sicknesses. They found several stores for the extra supplies on Fifth Avenue, the 5th main street that was 27 meters above where they had just finished eating breakfast. Denki stored the batteries along with his tech kit, while he placed the oxygen tanks in one of the storage scrolls that he had brought along. On the other hand, Hanabi and Wasabi kept the adrenaline shots and breathing masks in their bags, which still had space, so they could easily get them in times of need. Everyone else who had bought some extra clothes, foods, drinks, and other memorabilia jammed them inside their backpacks.

It was past 6:40 when the group finished packing up their supplies, and it took another 12 minutes of brisk walking to finally climb the last fifty meters or so to the Seventh Avenue. From the Seventh Avenue landing, it took them five more minutes before Denki was able to lead them to the starting point of the Spur Trail.

"We have less than two minutes before Kakashi-sensei gets here," Konohamaru noted to the others. "Rest while you still can, you guys. This climb isn't going to be easy."

"…I'm already here, you know?"

Kakashi had come around from the corner of the wall that marked the boundary of the town. The thick, sloped, concrete wall also served the purpose of holding back avalanches and draining their power, so that even if the avalanche overtopped the barrier, they wouldn't do too much damage to the houses and buildings behind the walls. Konohamaru looked surprised at first, and then let out a dry laugh. "Oh… no rest for us then…"

"My courtesy call ended early. I just let the mayor know that we had arrived, and that we would be on our way up the mountain shortly. She gave us her blessing, and wishes us success and safety. She also informed me that all mountaineering and skiing expeditions to Mount Tirad and the surrounding mountains have been postponed for the time being, both to give our mission more leeway, and to protect their climbers and skiers in case any Earth Army raiding parties slip past us."

Kakashi continued, "It's already 7 on my watch. Shall we go hiking now? Is everyone fully awake?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei! We won't let you down!" With their backs against the rising sun, the small Konoha detachment began venturing up slopes of Mount Tirad on the snowy, pristine, meandering Spur Trail.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"How many hours," Chocho panted in the increasingly thin air, "have we been… climbing up?"

"It's 1:52 pm now…" Denki glanced at his phone while breathing heavily as well. "We've been climbing for almost seven hours now…"

"Shit… it's so cold…" She then fell to her knees. Sarada, Sumire, and Mitsuki caught her in time from falling on her face onto the snow, and they gently laid her back against a snowy mound. Wasabi immediately pulled out one of the clear plastic breathing masks from her backpack and pressed it hard onto Chocho's face. Just as quickly, Hanabi attached the oxygen tank to the mask's tube and switched on the airflow.

"Don't worry," Hanabi reassured everyone. "She's just out of breath. She won't even need an emergency injection."

"Everyone rest first," Kakashi held up his hand. "Five minutes."

The sun had already passed its peak for the day, and was now on its way down the afternoon sky. The 25 Konoha ninja were resting on a snowy clearing on the slopes of the mountain, high enough that some passing clouds would be able to swamp them in a light haze if they so chose.

"Denki," Boruto asked his technologically adept friend, "how high up are we right now?"

"According to my phone's navigational satellite data," Denki scanned his hi-tech phone, "we're at 3660 meters above sea level. We're quite high up now."

"Are we almost there?" Shikadai joined in their conversation. "The place we'll be staying at for the next couple of weeks?"

"I think we are," Denki replied and pointed west at a peculiar and awe-inspiring rock formation, twin rock pillars towering high over their thick bases, around a hundred meters away further up the Spur trail. "If I'm not mistaken, those must be the Sephiroth Pillars. Just past those two should be the Sheltered Col, the high point of the Passes of Mount Tirad. It's the lowest of all the passes in the Mile-High Mountains, at just over 3750 meters, not to mention one of the easiest passes to cross."

"Wow… look at that…" Everyone turned to Sarada, who was pointing northwest at the very top of Mount Tirad. Powerful gusts of wind pummeled the summit and the summit ridge, and so it looked as if it were a chimney letting out snow-white smoke.

Sumire, who was beside Sarada and also gazing at the wind-buffeted summit ridge, asked Denki, "How high up is the peak?"

"The summit of Mount Tirad stands at 6157.5 meters above mean sea level. At nearly four miles high, it's the tallest mountain in the entire range, not to mention in the Land of Rain."

"But 'Mile-High' rolls off the tongue better than 'Three-Mile-High' so and so," Sarada pointed out. "That's probably why the name stuck."

"Pretty much," Denki nodded before looking at another mountain nearby. "On the other hand, those twin peaks to our southwest should be the Horns of Hod. According to the Land of Rain's mountaineering site, both the taller West Horn and the shorter East Horn are slightly over 5500 meters tall, and they're connected by their shared summit ridge. The Sheltered Col, where we'll be camping at, is right in between Mount Tirad and the Horns of Hod. We're sure to have a great view of their peaks, and we even could try summiting them if we have the chance."

"Yeah!" Boruto raised his fist in the air. "That sounds fun!"

"Hey," Wasabi informed them, "Chocho's okay now." As soon as Hanabi confirmed it, Kakashi ordered everyone to finish off the last hundred or so meters of the climb to their destination.

After almost seven hours of climbing in fair weather, the ninja from Konoha passed the three-meter wide gap in between the two tall rock pillars, the pair that Denki had called the Sephiroth Pillars, which acted as a sort of entranceway to the col. Boruto was first through the gap, and he saw a large, white, and gently sloped plateau wedged between the two mountains, Tirad and Hod. Aside from the two aforementioned mountains, there was a third rise further west, although it was much shorter than the other two. And in between, he saw open skies and daylight. "Denki, this is where we'll stay?"

"Yup, this is the Sheltered Col," Denki explained while passing by Boruto. He further explained, "A col is the saddle point or intersection between two or more mountain peaks, and it usually allows passage from one side of the mountain range to the other." Denki strolled across the col, which had a layer of powdery snow covering brownish grey rock. He noted while pointing at the rising ridge directly west, "That's the Western Ridge of Mount Tirad. The Hod Pass is on the south side of the Western Ridge." Then he swung his arm slightly to the right and continued, "And that's Feres Pass on the Western Ridge's north side."

Meanwhile, an excited and giddy Iwabe quickly caught up to Denki and the other boys. "Everyone," he whispered, "are you ready to do our best idea ever? The one we discussed last night?"

"You bet," Denki whispered back. "But remember everyone: don't tell the senseis just yet. They'll probably shoot our plan down if they get wind of it."

"You two are talking about Castle Plan, aren't you?" The two glanced at Boruto and Shikadai, who had asked the question in unison. "The one you were talking about last night before we slept?"

Denki nodded enthusiastically and pulled out a rather large storage scroll from his bag. "Everyone in Teams 7, 10, and 15, excluding the senseis, gather around me and listen closely."

"What's happening?" Sumire asked after they had assembled around Denki and Iwabe. The boys were obviously in on the plan they had discussed in the wee hours last night, but the girls had no idea what was going on.

"We'll be surveying for our base. We need accurate data so we don't screw up building our base, and also so I can make a 3-D model of the area." From the large storage scroll in his hand, the scion of the Kaminarimon clan pulled out three rectangular orange cases with corresponding tripods, some radio walkie-talkies, six red and white poles, and six glass prisms. He then handed out two prisms and prism poles each to the teams he had called, along with some walkie-talkies. Boruto took one of the glass prisms, and it piqued his interest since whatever angle he tilted it towards his face, he always saw his eyes at the very center point of the prism.

"Inside each case," he opened one orange case and took out a heavy-looking scientific instrument, "is a Total Station. It's basically the most modern surveying tool we have. It's a laser telescope, theodolite, auto-level, and a computer, all combined into one instrument. Please be very careful with these; this was made by my father's company, and they're each worth millions of Ryo apiece."

"I've actually used auto-levels and theodolites before," Sumire fondly recalled, "back when I was still working under Katasuke, but not in an actual field surveying situation or anything."

"That experience should be enough," Denki nodded in approval. Meanwhile, Iwabe set up the tripod so that its top face was steady and horizontal on the slightly sloped surface, while Denki carefully placed the Total Station on the tripod and turned some knobs to balance it perfectly on the tripod's face.

"Since you three are the most adept of us, aside from me of course, at using new technology, Boruto, Shikadai, and Sumire, would make the best instrument handlers," Denki decided. "Boruto and Shikadai, listen up. Sumire, you probably remember this from your earlier surveying days at Katasuke's company, but listen for a refresher anyway."

Denki pointed to a small glass tube on the side of the instrument, with a cross-haired circle etched on the glass surface. "Make sure this air bubble here is inside the target circle. That'll tell you if the Total Station is completely level with the ground, or if you need to make small adjustments with these three knobs here. After it's within the circle target, make sure to screw the instrument tightly onto the tripod, so it won't fall off while you're using it. Once you do that, you can look at this eyepiece right here, and you can rotate it horizontally and vertically. Whether you do it by hand for large adjustments, or by the side knobs from small adjustments, that's up to you."

To help Denki out, Iwabe took one of the prism poles from Chocho then distanced himself from the group before telling Denki to sight him. Denki finely adjusted his viewpoint telescope by turning its plastic knobs, before locking the rotational knobs in place. "Lock the TS into place when you've sighted your target prism. Rodmen, please make sure not to move when your prism is being sighted, or else the data will be wrong."

"Anyway, back to the instrument handlers. Once you're locked in, simply press this button," Denki pointed at a large white button on the computer keyboard. "This will activate the laser pointer and detector, so that the positional coordinates and elevations of the prism poles will be entered into the TS. Just wait for a few seconds for the TS to record the data, and it will sound a cute beep to let you know it's done with all its calculations and data-gathering for that one point. Afterwards, rotate it to wherever the next point with the prism pole will be. Simple enough, right?"

As if Denki had rehearsed this explanation many times beforehand and had gotten the timing done perfectly, the Total Station beeped to inform the user that the desired data had been stored in its memory.

"So now for your surveying locations," Denki concluded. "Sumire, since you've had prior experience with handling surveying instruments, I'll trust you and Team 15 to survey the Sheltered Col, where we'll set up our castle fortress base. How does that sound?"

"A castle fortress base? Wow…" Sumire nodded and grinned. "I'm sure we can manage! We'll do our best!"

"That's the spirit!" Denki cheered. "Boruto, you and Team 7 should go survey the Hod Pass. Shikadai, you and Team 10 survey the Feres Pass. Everyone else can decide what they want their roles to be, as long as there are two rodmen to hold the glass prisms, for efficiency reasons, and one scout to decide what points you want to survey and to make sure the spacing between the points is appropriate. Ohh by the way, each team should survey at least 500 points for more accurate data and results. Is everything clear?"

Boruto gave a grin and a thumbs-up, while Shikadai groaned. "Dammit… 500 points? This is going to be such a drag…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

_"__Sarada, your point's done,"_ Boruto spoke into the radio while sighting his two teammates from his position farther up the Hod Pass. "_I'm sighting Mitsuki now."_

Konohamaru directed, "Sarada, move, umm, maybe 2 small steps left? For this area of the Hod Pass, let's do shorter intervals between points."

"Got it!" Sarada nodded and walked about half a meter left, making sure not to go in front of Mitsuki in case Boruto was sighting him using the Total Station and its laser detecting system. That had happened twice already in the past three hours that they had been surveying. One of those times was Sarada stepping in front of Mitsuki and his prism pole right as Boruto was about to enter Mitsuki's coordinates. It elicited a panicked warning from Boruto over the radio, and Sarada made a mental note not to do it again. The other instance was actually Konohamaru stepping into the laser beam out of sheer curiosity to its properties, and without Boruto noticing his sensei's impromptu experiment since he was looking at the instrument's computer screen. The red laser did not pierce through a curious Konohamaru, nor did it cause any other ill effects to him. But it confused the utter hell out of Boruto for almost three whole minutes as to why the recorded coordinates of that one particular point were so weirdly far-off from every other point beside it. He had begun to worry if he had accidentally nudged the Total Station or its tripod out of proper leveling, or worse, that he had broken the instrument altogether. When Mitsuki finally informed Boruto that it was Konohamaru who unknowingly messed up the results, Boruto cursed loudly, then laughed and sighed in relief that he was not going to lose all his life-savings to Denki. Afterwards, he deleted the single erroneous result, and the survey went on as if nothing had happened.

Boruto spoke into the radio again. _"Mitsuki done, Sarada next… Big Bro Konohamaru, is their spacing alright?"_

"It is… We're on a 20-degree slope anyway, so it's nice to have the points closer to each other."

After Sarada was done with her next point, she spoke into the radio she shared with Mitsuki. "Boruto, how many points are we at now?"

_"__Let me check… Hmm… Okay, we're at 413 points out of 500 right now. We're almost there, less than a hundred to go! Ohh yeah, you're done by the way, Sarada. Mitsuki now… That makes 414 points, hehehe…"_

"Alright! Good job everyone! It's 4:28 now, so we still have around an hour and a half to go before sunset." After settling into her new spot, Sarada then admitted, "I'm sure glad I'm not the instrument handler, because we'd still be at 250 points right now…"

The walkie-talkie crackled to life again with Boruto's response. _"Mitsuki done. Sarada, you're next… Also Sarada, that's still better than where Team 10 is right now. They've only just passed 200 points a few minutes ago…"_

"Holy shit! They're not going to make it by 6 pm, are they?"

_"__At that rate, there's no way… Sarada done, Mitsuki now."_

"We could help them later," Mitsuki suggested as he moved to his next position, which was now one pace behind Sarada, since they were moving down the slope.

"Only once we're done with our survey," Sarada replied to Mitsuki. "Then we can help them. But still, even with us helping out, I don't know if they can finish by sundown tonight."

_"__Mitsuki, move onto your next point, I'm sighting Sarada now… I'm sure Denki and the others will be chill about them not finishing-"_

Boruto was interrupted by static interference that lasted a second long, and then the familiar voice of their former class rep crackled through the radio. _"Am I speaking to Team 7? Denki said that you guys were on radio channel 3."_

Sarada grinned. "What if I said that he was messing with you?"

_"__Hey Sumire," _Boruto chimed in._ "Don't worry, you're talking to us."_

_"__Hahaha… Hey Boruto! Hey Sarada! How's Team 7 holding up?"_

"It's a bit cold," Sarada said, "but we'll be done in about 30 minutes."

"I can't feel the cold that much," Mitsuki deadpanned. "How about you, Sumire?"

_"__It's cold for sure, but I can handle it."_

"Before we get carried away further on this topic," Konohamaru interrupted the team captain of Team 15. Sarada detected a hint of mischief in his smirk. "Sumire, why did you switch your radio to our frequency?"

_"__Just a progress report actually,"_ Sumire replied. _"For all the teams surveying now, preferably."_

Boruto offered, "_Should I get Shikadai on the same channel as us?"_

_"__That would certainly help. They're on channel 4."_

_"__Yup, I know that. I was just talking to them a while ago, you know? Anyway, I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to switch over to their frequency first and tell them about what's happening. Boruto out."_

While Boruto was telling Team 10 to switch over to their channel for a while, Sumire asked, "Konohamaru-sensei, I wasn't being a hassle or anything a while ago, was I? I was wondering why you asked me why I switched to your frequency…"

"Oh definitely not! We really needed a break anyway. Anyway, it's nothing really. I was just wondering if you had a pressing issue you wanted to talk about? Or maybe… just maybe… you were going to confess your feelings to a special someone over the airwaves?"

_"__HAWAWAWAWAWA NOOOOOOOOOO!"_ The radio speakers peaked and emitted a high-pitched, squeaking noise. Sarada silently bowled over in laughter, to a bewildered Mitsuki and a knowing Konohamaru. Radio silence reigned for a few seconds before Sumire regained her composure. _"It's not that, Konohamaru-sensei, I promise you. It really was just to let you guys know that we finished our survey a few minutes ago… I also wanted to check up on everyone too…"_

"If you say so," Konohamaru explained. "I mean, Hanabi-sensei told me everything, you know?"

_"__Wait, she did?"_

"Don't worry, we're not spreading this to anyone else. I mean, it's only you, me, Hanabi, Sarada, Mitsuki… Actually, scratch Mitsuki… Hmm, Wasabi and Namida obviously know… So do Shikadai and Inojin and Chocho…"

Sumire's panicking voice stuttered back to Konohamaru's unexpected teasing. _"Konohamaru-sensei… that's enough, please stop…"_

While this was happening, Mitsuki tapped Sarada's shoulder and asked off-radio, "Why does Konohamaru-sensei want to scratch me? Did I do something horribly wrong? Does he still hate me for what my father did to his grandfather?"

Sarada sighed, remembering Mitsuki's difficulty in understanding non-literal things. "No, Mitsuki. Konohamaru-sensei doesn't actually want to scratch you. It's just a figure of speech; it means something like, 'leave you out of this conversation'. Besides, he doesn't hate you for the actions of your father. That would just be unfair."

"… I get it now. Thank you Sarada."

"No problem… Hey Konohamaru-sensei!" Sarada chided her sensei while trying to hold back even more laughter, "enough with your bullying. Sumire's about to burst into tears!"

_"__We're back guys-"_

_"__I'M NOT! Sarada!" _

A long pause of awkward silence began, only broken by Boruto. _"Umm… Sumire?"_ Boruto's voice was obviously full of concern. _"Are you okay over there? What's going on? We just came back on this channel…"_

_"__Ohh hey Boruto… umm… it's nothing! Don't worry about me! Hehee…"_

Sarada chuckled sarcastically in her own mind. _"Very convincing… Oh fine…"_ Instead of torturing her best friend further, Sarada helped her out of her situation. "Sumire," she asked over the walkie-talkie, "you wanted a progress report for all teams?"

_"__Ohh yes… thank you Sarada…" _Sarada knew from Sumire's emphasis and inflection on her "thank you" that her purple-haired friend was really grateful for the topic diversion she caused. _"Is everyone listening?"_

_"__We're here," _Shikadai and Inojin greeted one after the other, with Inojin continuing, _"How are you all doing?"_

_"__Team 15 first,"_ Sumire informed everyone._ "We finished our 500 point survey on the Sheltered Col at 4:29 pm. How about you guys?"_

_"__WHAAAT?" _This time, it was Shikadai who peaked the radio speakers, and as his voice was louder, more sudden, and less appealing to the ears than Sumire's voice was a while ago, it caused everyone to groan in pain. _"You're done already?"_

_"__What's wrong with that?" _Boruto asked him with a giggle._ "We're at 417 points now, going on 418."_

"At this rate," Sarada added with a sly grin, "we'll be done with all 500 points in… 30 minutes? Maybe just past 5 pm?"

_"__No way… we're only at 216 points."_

Inojin quipped_, "Talk about, 'How slow can you go?' Dammit Shikadai!"_

_"__Alright, we're done here,"_ Sumire wrapped up. _"Shikadai… umm, good luck to you guys… If you want us to help over there-"_

_"__No need,"_ a sheepish-sounding Shikadai let out before switching radio channels altogether.

Inojin immediately contradicted Shikadai before switching back to his original radio channel 4. _"Please… help us when you're done…"_

Sarada laughed. "Don't worry Sumire, we'll help them out after we're done. You guys go ahead and give Denki and Iwabe the data they need for our f…" Sarada caught herself before she could say any more of the word fortress. "…Our base."

_"__Yup, they're right here anyway. See you guys back here tonight!"_

"See you later Sumire!" Boruto and Sarada simultaneously told their former class rep.

Boruto then went back to operating his instrument. "Alright Sarada, let's go back to your current point… We're almost done, around eighty to go."

"By the way guys," Konohamaru told them. "I saw something interesting a while ago. I'd like to investigate it after we're done."

*******XXXXXXX*******

After turning off her walkie-talkie, Sumire plugged in Denki's custom USB flash drive, which was emblazoned with the eye-catching Kaminarimon Company logo, into her Total Station. She then transferred the data from the instrument to the USB, and then afterwards, she disassembled her set-up and placed the expensive equipment inside its durable orange case. With Denki's USB flash drive in hand, Sumire walked by Wasabi and Namida, who were resting on the soft and cold snow, with the prism poles they had held for the past two and a half hours laid down beside them.

Sumire approached Denki and Iwabe, who were further explaining their plan to Teams 25 and 40. "Denki! Iwabe! Here's the data for the Sheltered Col. All 500 points."

"Thank you Sumire! That was quite fast too." Denki quickly connected the flash drive to his laptop and inputted all of the data onto a computer program he had designed with a lot of Iwabe's input. Within only a minute, thanks to the speedy and well-designed laptop Denki had, the program outputted a detailed topographic map of the desired area against a backdrop of black. Then lines and areas appeared and were highlighted in yellow, red, blue, green, orange, and violet. Sumire read the program's guide legend on the right side, and so she understood that the blue lines, which made a rectangle, represented the walls and ramparts, while the yellow areas stood for the guard towers, and red dots symbolized gates. Meanwhile, violet areas marked the best areas to construct the different buildings, orange was equivalent to optimal electrical circuits, and green was for the pathways to and from the different buildings and gateways.

Iwabe examined the map closely, and after around two minutes, he nodded in approval to Denki. "This is great! According to our program, the design should be simple enough."

Denki agreed and turned to Teams 25 and 40, who were awaiting his instructions. He handed out many bright fluorescent markers of different colors to them. "I'll send you guys the picture of the plan. Enko, Tsuru, and Doshu, use these glowers to mark down the locations that are colored blue, yellow, and red. Hako, Tokenagi, Houki, and Renga, please mark the locations that are marked orange, green, and violet."

"Yes Denki! We'll do our best!" The members of Team 40 and Team 25 respectively went right to work and dispersed.

While Wasabi and Namida were heading towards Sumire, Iwabe, and Denki, Sumire continued to study the topographic map on Denki's laptop.

Seeing Sumire continuously looking at the map he made, Denki explained, "Team 40 is in charge of marking the boundaries of the walls, with rampart walkways on top of the walls, as well as the guard towers and the gates that will make up the outside skeleton of the fortress. On the other hand, Team 25 will be marking the locations of the inside structures. There's going to be the main quarters, where we'll all be staying for the most part. It's the biggest building near the center, with bedrooms for boys and girls, a mess hall where we can all eat, a kitchen, a map room, an infirmary, a lobby with a fireplace for Kakashi-sensei and the other senseis to relax in, and maybe even some balconies. There's also going to be storage buildings nearby the main building for food, water, medicine, other spare supplies, and extra ninja weapons for when you guys need replacements. There's even going to be a separate building for the electrical generator I brought."

Sumire, Wasabi and Namida all eyed Denki in astonishment. "You have a generator on you? How-"

"Storage scrolls," he smiled and laughed. "You think I could physically carry everything I brought? Anyway, after we're done with the construction, we'll still have to lay down the necessary electrical circuits so we can power and light up the buildings. And yes, I should have enough LED light bulbs, electrical heaters, and wiring for all the buildings."

"Denki," Wasabi demanded to know, "just how much stuff did you bring along?"

"The geodesic surveying instruments you guys just used, a clean water storage tank and distillation system where we can melt harvested snow into drinkable freshwater, the electrical components and generator and fuel and etc… I also still have the spy and long-range surveillance equipment in other scrolls, and some new technology that I'd like to test out later on. Why?"

"Are you entirely sure you didn't bring your entire lab with you?"

Denki shook off the playful backhanded comment from Wasabi. "So lastly, the courtyard and pathways to and from the structures will be made by Iwabe. He just loves to design these things in his mind, and then actually get to build them. If you gave him the chance, he'd be both a visionary of an architect and a master in engineering… Not to mention his cooking," Denki ended with a laugh shared by the three girls.

Suddenly, Hako, who was riding atop an enlarged Tokenagi, was waving at them. "Denki, Iwabe! I think we've finished!"

A few seconds later, Enko shouted from the other side of the col. "We're done over here too!"

"It's time then," Iwabe noted with an excited voice, stretching his arms before grabbing his earthen-pole. "By the way," he shouted back to Teams 25 and 40, "you guys should move away from the markers you just placed." Iwabe then walked a short distance before looking back at Denki and the three kunoichi of Team 15. "You guys ready for this? Earth Style: Rock-Solid Ramparts!"

He swung his earthen-pole high over his head and smashed it into the ground as hard as he could, and in the following seconds, massive sections of ground jutted upwards in a tremendous shift, one after the other. Thick walls of brownish grey Gneiss stone rose as high as 25 meters into the air from the col's surface, and square towers protruded from the more or less uniformly flat wall every so often.

The fortress Iwabe had just created was a large rectangle in shape. Its walls ran for 300 meters on its length and spanned 125 meters on its width, almost the size of the entire col, and the slabs of solid stone that made up the walls themselves were more than 2 meters thick. There were 12 guard towers spread evenly throughout the ramparts, and there were also walkways and lookout spots on top of the walls. There were also three grand stone gateways for the three trails that intersected on the Sheltered Col: Spur Gate on the East Wall, Hod Gate on the West Wall, and Feres Gate on the North Wall. There were no gates yet, as stone gates of that size would be too heavy to move by hand. Denki resolved to install mechanical systems in the following days to help open the heavy doors quickly and efficiently.

"I'm not even done yet." Iwabe grinned, although there were subtle hints of him suffering some chakra fatigue. "Let's move on to the inside. I guarantee you: The building we'll be staying at will be grand."

"Amazing," Wasabi, Namida, and Sumire cheered altogether. "This will be a landmark for sure!"

Denki's eyes might as well have turned into planets themselves, given how wide they opened. "This is so wonderful, Iwabe! We're leaving our mark! We should also leave our names here too… Maybe a plaque would do-"

"What the fuck is going on here?"

Everyone turned around to see Udon, who had put his hands on his head. He seemed aghast, if not outright wanting to pull all his hair out. "Who allowed you to make a damn fortress? Why did you have to go overboard? We're just supposed to leave the area as it is! That's why I brought tents!"

"Udon, enough!" Kakashi chastised him. "You're being too uptight and strict on your boys. And I talked to both the Sixth Amekage and the Mayor of Spur, and the two of them agreed to let us use our environment to our advantage, so long as we don't destroy the mountains, their climbing trails, or their beauty. In my view, it only elevates it. In fact, we're even helping the Land of Rain defend their borders. They would be happy about this new development, I'm sure." Udon walked away, mumbling angrily after being rebuked by Kakashi, who was superior to him.

"A castle fort nestled high in the mountains?" Kakashi mused while addressing Iwabe. "It takes a lot of skill and effort, and I commend your vision too. To tell you the truth, I'm happy that you took charge and made a positive contribution. Thanks to all of you, our stay and mission will be in more comfortable conditions than I first thought."

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Dammit Shikadai," cursed Chocho aloud. "Can you be any slower? My hands are growing numb… My body's getting colder too… Ughhh, I just know my skin is not going to like this environment…"

_"__This is such a fucking drag!"_ Shikadai let out a loud groan of frustration and fatigue into his walkie-talkie radio. _"We still have more than 230 points to survey, and we have just over an hour to go before it gets too dark. We're not going to complete this today!"_

"We can ask help from the others later!" Moegi tried to assure Shikadai, but her voice gave the indication that she too was getting tired and pissed off. For nearly the past three hours, she and Chocho have had to stand still and hold their prism poles perfectly upright, which was hard enough already in the snowy ground, the steep slope of the Feres Path, and the thinner air at their altitude. But it was made all the worse by Shikadai, who took a considerably long time to sight them and enter the coordinates for each point that they surveyed.

Suddenly, a burst of mildly irritating static white noise came from the radio, followed by muddled instructions. _"Chocho… move now…"_

"Finally Shikadai! At least you're getting a bit faster now!" Chocho lifted her prism from the ground and moved a pace beside her sensei. But the moment she put her placed her pole on the snowy rock slope of the Feres Pass, the radio burst into a loud cracking noise once again.

_"__CHOCHO! WHY DID YOU MOVE? THE TS WASN'T DONE WITH YOUR POINT YET!"_

"BUT YOU TOLD ME TO MOVE!"

"Shikadai," Moegi spoke into the radio, "we heard you just a moment ago. Please, just enter the points already, so we can be done with this."

There was another long pause in the radio transmissions, as it emitted more static. _"Moegi-sensei… You can move to the next point now… Sorry about shouting there…"_

"It's fine," Moegi replied as calmly as she could. Something about what Shikadai had said bothered her slightly, but she chalked it up to pressure and frustration. "Let's not get too stressed out here-"

_"__MOEGI-SENSEI? WHY DID YOU MOVE TOO?"_

"Because you told me to move just now! Do you have amnesia or short-term memory loss? Are you feeling sick in the head?"

_"__I did not say anything! I swear! Are you guys hearing things? I'm-"_

_"…__Chocho, you're done! Let's quicken our pace."_

"Okay Shikadai-"

_"__WAIT! THAT'S NOT ME! INOJIN, IS THAT YOU?"_

_"…__Don't drag me into your mess, Shikadai."_ Inojin clapped back with an irritated voice_. "I'm scouting further down the pass."_

_"__WELL WHO ELSE IS ON OUR FUCKING CHANNEL?" _Right after he asked, Shikadai realized the only possible answer to his own question. It couldn't possibly have been anyone else in the world. _"BORUTO! YOU ASSHOLE! GET OFF OUR CHANNEL, YOU DICKHEAD!"_

_"__HAHAHAHAHA…"_ Boruto laughed his heart out over the radio. _"Alright… you got me… We'll help you finish later, don't worry… We just finished our survey a minute ago…"_

While Shikadai seethed, fumed, and screamed into the radio, which was futile because Boruto had already switched radio channels, Inojin was travelling further down the Feres Pass. He had sent out his ink-based recon animals a few minutes ago, and they notified him of a particular point of interest. When Inojin arrived at the location his scouting animals had informed him of, he saw a long and narrow couloir, a natural narrow gully trench that had been carved out in the past by the glacier or by a stream of water from melted ice.

Inojin recalled his ink animals back into their scrolls to conserve his ink before climbing into the gully. It was sloped somewhat steeply, and it seemed to cut through the high Western Ridge, which separated the Hod and Feres trails. Suddenly, as Inojin was climbing around a bend in the trench, he saw an intensely bright light shine directly into his eyes. He lifted his hands to cover his eyes, but he lost his footing and slipped onto the cold snow. "Oww… who's there… I can't see shit…"

"Inojin? Are you okay?" Slowly, Inojin regained his vision, and saw Boruto and Sarada kneeling beside him, with Boruto holding the offending flashlight. "Why are you here?"

"Hey guys… I was scouting ahead when I saw this."

"Same here," Sarada noted. "Konohamaru-sensei asked us to explore this place."

Boruto asked Inojin, "You came over from Feres, right?"

"Yup! And you guys came from Hod? Okay… so, this couloir connects the two trails. It crosses over from a lower point of the Feres Pass to a higher point on the Hod Pass. I guess we can name it the Traverse Couloir then."

"That…" Sarada admitted, "actually sounds like a nice name, Inojin. _'The Traverse Couloir.'_ It's certainly better than any name Boruto can come up for it."

Boruto sighed and shook his head. "How about we put in some extra work? We have an hour of daytime left, so if you guys are up for it, let's do around 50 additional points for the Traverse Couloir?"

"I'm sure we'll be finished here before Shikadai," Sarada chuckled. "But yeah, I guess 50 points is reasonable. Denki would like his model to be as accurate as it could be, after all."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Dusk was in the midst of falling on Mount Tirad, and to watch the grand golden hour on the mountain, Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida climbed up a short peak on the top end of the Western Ridge. It was very close by the fortress that Iwabe, Denki, Metal, and the others were building. Once they reached the top of the ridge's last rise, which peaked at only forty meters high over the Sheltered Col, the three girls witnessed a majestic sight.

From their newfound vantage point, they could now see clearly the green plains of the Land of Grass in the north, and the far-off city of Kusa could also be seen, although it was only barely visible without using powerful telescopes. To the west, the Land of Earth, with its brown rocky landscape, was bathed in a quickly dimming glow by the setting orange sun that was halfway through the slightly curved horizon. To their east towered the upper 2450 meters of the imposing Mount Tirad in the foreground of the darkening sky, while to the southeast were the twin Horns of Hod, and near-directly south was a smooth rise of snow and rock just south of the Hod Pass. It was roughly 50 meters west from where Iwabe had erected the Hod Gate. To Sumire, it looked to have a good view of the Traverse Couloir, which Boruto, Sarada, and Inojin had informed her about over the radio an hour ago.

"This place is so beautiful," Namida exclaimed. "I'm naming this the 'Dawn Observation Point'."

Wasabi tilted her head in confusion. "But it's the sunset we're watching, not the sunrise… isn't that naming a bit ironic?"

"I'm sure the sunrise will be just as beautiful from here! And so will the stars at night!"

"Denki," Sumire called him using the walkie-talkie, "I think we found a great observation deck for your spy surveillance equipment."

_"__Nice! I see where you guys are. Iwabe and I will be right there. We just finished the construction of the buildings inside the fortress, though I'll still need to safely lay down the power lines later tonight."_

The all-female team watched on as Denki and Iwabe climbed a nearby spiraling staircase to the top of the walls, then went to the northwestern-most tower. From there, Iwabe swung his earth hammer once again, formed a bridge from the corner tower to the slight peak, and then walked across the new bridge to the observation point, where Team 15 was enjoying the view of the sunset.

"Welcome to the Dawn Observation Point," Namida welcomed the two, who examined the view from the peak.

Denki was the first to give his opinion. "I love it! You can see both the Grass Nation and the Earth Nation from here… And yes, that is Kusa in the distance! This is perfect!"

Iwabe smoothened out the very top of the snowy stone peak with his earthen pole-hammer, then added strong railings on the sides for safety. Afterwards, Denki spent some time pulling some long-range telescopes and cameras out of one of his many storage scrolls, fitting them onto stable tripods, and pointing them towards the vast grassy expanse of the Land of Grass, the rocky mesa of the Land of Earth, and the distant city of Kusa.

"This should help us spy on the Earth Army's movements relative to Kusa and the Lands of Grass and Rain," Denki surmised. He then looked out at the two passes below and spotted lights heading their way up the Feres Pass. "I think the others are done mapping the trails. We should get back."

The five descended from the new observation point, returned to the walls through the bridge Iwabe had made, and rushed down the stairs that were right beside the Feres Gate, which had no gates yet. They met an astonished Team 7 and Team 10 at the vacant doorway.

"Holy shit!" Boruto reacted with surprise. "I didn't expect you'd be finished with the fortress this soon. Is the inside done as well?"

"You bet," Iwabe smirked then laughed in defeat. "Okay, not quite yet. The buildings' structures are all built, but we haven't started with the insides yet. Denki and I still need to install all the electrical shit, and you guys need to help us out with a lot of interior decorating. Aside from that though, we're all done."

"Welcome to your home away from home…" Denki began in a comedic fashion, as if he was advertising to them, "Fort… umm… we don't actually have a name for it yet… We'll decide on that later! Come inside!"

As the two teams rejoined their friends, Boruto told them what had happened in the past hour. "Denki, Sumire, remember what I radioed you two about?"

"The thing you discovered?" Denki tried to clarify. "The Traverse Couloir or something?"

"Yes, that one. Inojin, my teammates, and I did extra work and surveyed around 60 more points for it. Once we were done, we met up with Shikadai to help out, but light was beginning to fade fast."

Sumire interjected, "How many points had he done by then?"

"Less than 350, I'd say," Sarada filled her best friend in.

"Oh my… he didn't finish, did he?"

"This is the part where it gets good, Sumire," Boruto told them the story. "Once we got there, Mitsuki, Sarada, Chocho, Inojin, Moegi-sensei, and Konohamaru-sensei all served as the rodmen, and they passed the prism poles to each other to make the whole process quicker. On the other hand, I literally just shoved Shikadai aside and entered the remaining 150-plus points myself. We had to rush it a lot, and it became really dark when it was sunset, but we managed to finish all 500 points for Feres Pass too."

Denki grinned. "So that's 500 points for Feres, 500 for Hod, and 60 more for the couloir through the Western Ridge that connects them? Where's your data?"

"Right here." Boruto passed the Kaminarimon-labeled USB to Denki. The moment that Denki's fingers touched his USB, his eyes began to glow. He immediately opened his laptop, inserted the USB, and entered all the data he had received into the same program he had used an hour ago. After a few seconds, the powerful customized laptop outputted a computerized topographical map of the Sheltered Col, the area of the fortress, and the trails and passes on the mountain. "When we finish the electrical system, I'll use my 3-D printer and make a 3-D relief model of this map. You know, like the ones you see in museums and all."

"You brought a 3-D printer with you?" Wasabi asked, but then realized the obvious answer. "Ohh of course, storage scrolls…" The group shared a hearty laugh as they reunited with everyone else in the Konoha Squadron.

"Now that everyone is here," Denki asked his friends, "what should we call our new fortress? Any suggestions?"

While everyone else paused to think for a moment, Boruto tried to suppress his giggling. "Tiger Festival?"

Everyone erupted in laughter and bowled over from Boruto's joke; the story of him trying to name Kirara years ago was now common knowledge among the group at this point. Sarada was laughing too, but she also began to sweat coldly in fear that the others might actually go along with it.

"Anything but that, please!" She mock-pleaded in between fits of giggles. "Boruto, you bastard! Hahaha…"

After the laughter died down, Denki reiterated his question, and this time, Wasabi answered. "How about 'The Fortress of Rem'? After all, in the old tongue, 'Rem' is the word for brilliant light, and the sunrise and sunsets here are breathtakingly beautiful. I'm also sure that the stars will be bright out here too!"

Sarada nodded in agreement. "It definitely sounds great, and you're correct about its meaning. 'The Rem Fortress', alright!"

Sumire and Namida agreed right after Sarada, then Boruto, and then everyone followed suit enthusiastically as well. Even the senseis and Kakashi gave their thumbs up of approval. "The Rem Fortress it is!"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Inside the Hokage's Office, Naruto, Sai, and Kurotsuchi were reading the latest updates from both the First Army of the Shinobi Union and the Konoha Squadron, the former having been sent to the Land of Grass, and the latter to the Land of Rain. It had been almost two entire nights since they had received the first notification from the Konoha Squadron, specifically by from Denki by way of a secure messenger application over the Internet.

After yawning rather loudly from fatigue and sleepiness, Naruto closed the file that he had just finished examining. It was the fifth such update they had gotten in total; it was received about four hours ago, and contained in the file were the first surveillance photographs of some Earth Army troop movements along their border with the Land of Grass, as well as the unobstructed path to the city of Kusa that the Land of Earth's army was most likely to take. It was grainy because of the extremely long distance and the atmospheric refraction caused by the difference in altitude, but what it meant was clear: The Earth Nation, led by its new Shogun Roa Du Tertae, was massing its forces for a violent conflict.

"They're really preparing for war," Kurotsuchi sighed. "Many of my people are going to die if this keeps going…"

"All negotiations have stopped," Naruto pointed out. "Your old daimyo is determined to make a war happen, that's for sure."

The computer then announced that both the Kazekage and Mizukage were on the diplomatic channels and were requesting a videoconference. Naruto immediately accepted since he had been expecting them to call. Once he did, the two serious faces of Gaara and Chojuro popped up on a splitscreen, with Naruto and Kurotsuchi on a small tab window on the side.

"Gaara! Chojuro! I've been waiting to tell you two the good news. By the way, where is Darui?"

"He's probably asleep," Gaara suggested. "It's almost 2 am over there, and remember that he still has better sleeping habits than you do."

Naruto laughed and raised his hands in the air. "You got me there. Anyway, we don't quite need Darui for this. I just needed to inform you two that the Konoha Squadron has secured their location on Mount Tirad, and that they've started their surveillance on Earth Army movements."

"That's very good news," Chojuro smiled. "I've already sent Kagura and his teammates over there to assist. They left Kiri yesterday morning, so they should be there in about a week, if good weather persists."

"Great! And Gaara, what about Shinki and his team?"

"They'll be in transit to the Land of Rain soon. I just sent them on a little bit of a detour, a side-mission to our neighboring country in the north, the Land of Stone."

Naruto was confused. "A side mission to the Land of Stone? What for?"

"They will try to get it back from Kara. If need be, if the local people decide not to cooperate with us, we will forcefully annex the Land of Stone into the Land of Wind. In doing so, we can open up another front with the Earth Nation, this time from their southern flank."

Naruto realized that Gaara himself had ulterior motives with this plan, but as The Land of Stone was not a member nation of the Shinobi Union, he could not subvert or avert what Gaara planned to do, even if it was for the sake of the greater good. After all, this was a time of war, and the Land of Stone did possess a formidable natural and strategic barrier, the Stone Mountains, which separated and defended it from the Land of Earth. To both Naruto and Gaara, it was better off in the possession of the Land of Wind than the Land of Earth. Still, Naruto could not help but feel concern for its native people; most of them were mountain tribes that historically hated to be under control of the Wind Nation, which did not share any common traits with them or even show respect to their culture and way of life.

"I have some concerns about this annexation plan of yours-"

"I also have some concerns of my own," Gaara interrupted bluntly. "Specifically regarding one Sumire Kakei, or was it Shigaraki? From the articles I've read about her, her chakra-draining abilities and her artificial summoning creature Nue are far too similar to Urashiki Otsusuki, the one who drained me of my chakra years before. That makes her a rather dangerous person for you to just let roam around alive and free-"

"She is not evil!" Naruto insisted emphatically. "I place my full trust in Sumire. She has helped us so much, even indirectly. From her Gozu Tennou helping Sasuke find other Otsusuki dimensions, to her fighting for Konoha's survival, and even now in this Fifth Great Ninja War. She is on our side."

"That's exactly what you said about Kawaki," Gaara pointed out. "And if what Sasuke told me is correct, he betrayed you and Konoha. What proof do you have that Sumire Shigaraki will not do the same?"

"I have even stronger faith in Sumire Kakei," Naruto corrected Gaara and defended Sumire's honor, "that she can truly change for the better. She has continued to defy the destiny that her father assigned from her since her toddler days, just like you did with your father. Remember that I also put my utmost faith in you all those years ago, that you would become stronger and better than your father ever imagined. And unless I'm mistaken, my faith turned out to be well placed. So please Gaara, trust me on this."

Gaara was left speechless, and he swallowed any more retorts. "Fine… I will choose to trust you, and in doing so, I will trust Sumire… Kakei."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "We can talk more about that and the annexation plan on a later date," Naruto pushed those issues out of the way for the moment. "For now, I'm glad that Shinki, Yodo, and Araya are heading to help Boruto too."

"Of course," Gaara flashed a smile. "Our sons should keep helping each other, the same way we did back when we were younger. Anyway, I must get back to my war table. Thank you Naruto. And good luck to our armies and our children." With that, he signed off. Right after, Chojuro waved farewell to Naruto and Kurotsuchi, then turned off his end of the videoconference as well. After a few more minutes, since it was past midnight, Kurotsuchi left to her private quarters, which was the guest room of the Hokage Mansion, to go to sleep.

Once again alone with Sai, Naruto reread the very first reports, which had arrived very early the previous day at past 12 am. In those reports, Inojin and Denki spoke of Iwabe establishing an actual fortress on the mountain passes, the fact that Denki and Iwabe were able to power the entire place with enough electricity using generators and fuel, the somewhat comfortable conditions they were living in, the very cold and thin air on the high mountain, and the details of Boruto's various pranks on Shikadai, the last of which amused Naruto to no end.

"They're still kids," Naruto said to Sai. "I feel really guilty about letting them go off to war. Even if they won't see much of any actual combat, their innocence is still there. It should stay that way for as long as it can… When I became the Hokage, one of the things I wanted the younger generations to experience was more time to be kids… more time for happiness and innocence… Not like when we were kids, and we were thrown off to wars and dangerous missions left and right just to save the world…"

Naruto sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "I feel like we failed to change that here… I just hope this war will be resolved quickly, and that they'll come out of this war still kids."

"Same here," Sai admitted. "I'm really worried about Inojin, Boruto, Sumire, and the rest of their generation over there."

"It's obvious, you know?" Naruto tried to lighten the mood with a chuckle. "You're pacing back and forth, waiting to hear from Inojin again."

"I just can't help but worry. It's gnawing at me, knowing that we can't control what they see out there. This experience, for all we know, might scar them all for the rest of their lives… I'm sorry for worrying too much."

"It's okay. I'm also worried. Both of us have children on that mission, and as parents, we can't help but worry for them. But we have to trust in them, that they'll do their duty to the best of their abilities."

"You're right Lord Hokage, as you usually are-"

Suddenly, rocks and bits of cement blocks broke through the windows of the Hokage Mansion, and angry chants were heard right outside. _"Death to Shigaraki! Death to Kawaki! Death to the Root! Death to Kara!"_

Naruto immediately rushed to the windows and saw a gathering crowd with a lot of lit torches. The crowd was thankfully being held at bay by the handful of jonin that had remained in Konoha. Then, the door to the office swung open, and Mirai appeared. "Lord Hokage! There's trouble!"

Sai turned to her. "What is happening?"

"Gadon's followers incited a flash riot outside. They're calling for an end to-"

"I know what they're demanding," Naruto sighed. "I hear them outside too… Alright, let's go quell this riot."

The three rushed down the stairs of the Mansion, but before they went outside, Sai made sure to remind the message receiver on the first floor. "If you get any more messages from the Konoha Squadron, please bring it to us at the Hokage's Office as soon as possible. Thank you!"

Around ten minutes later, the receiver's desktop chimed and notified him that an update from Denki had arrived, and it was quickly printed by the machine next to the computer. Remembering Sai's request, the man grabbed the printed papers, placed them in a brown folder, and walked up the stairs towards the Hokage Office. However, when he got to the door, he felt a hand out of nowhere that grasped his shoulder firmly. Turning around to see who had touched him, the man was immediately placed under a genjutsu by a shadowy and mysterious figure that wore a pitch-black mask to conceal his identity.

The message receiver walked back to his station, his memory of the past five minutes deleted from his mind completely. He did not remember that he had received a new update from Denki at all. Meanwhile, the masked figure climbed out of the Hokage Mansion from a window and leapt into the dark night, the progress report from the Konoha Squadron in hand. After running along the rooftops of buildings and getting a safe distance away from the chaotic riot at the front of the Hokage Mansion, the man in the blackened mask hid entered his own house through the back alley entrance, took off his mask and cloak, scanned through the report, and took pictures of each page in the progress report he had intercepted. He sent them over the Internet to a man he knew very well: Roa Du Tertae, the self-proclaimed Shogun of the Earth Nation.

"My Lord Shogun," the man spoke in a confident and proud voice, "I've sent you the details of the Hokage's foolishness."

"I am looking at it now," Roa replied. "What is the gist?"

"The path to Ame is weakly defended. The Passes on Tirad are guarded only by a mere 25 ninja, most of them genin and their jonin senseis. There is a fortress that they constructed, but it can be easily taken care of with explosives and a concerted siege on it."

A laugh came at the other end. "They truly are stupid and stuck in the past. With the help of the advanced weaponry and the many volunteers from Gran Merikha, and also the strength and rock-hard will of the Earth's Army, we will crush them easily."

The unknown traitor in Konoha smirked. "Among the defenders are the Sixth Hokage, the Eighth Hokage, the Seventh Hokage's only son, the Seventh Hokage's protégé and the last Uchiha of her generation, and the Shigaraki heiress who has the Gozu Tennou's spawn on her. It would be wise to attack this Rem Fortress and capture them. Once you do, you can use them as leverage and ransom them in exchange for Kurotsuchi and the end of the war."

"You are right there. As you may have heard, I am sending the First Army, fifty thousand men strong, to besiege the city of Kusa and keep the Shinobi Army busy there. However, we have gathered enough forces to for a Second and Third Army as well. The Third Army will stay to protect the capital. Meanwhile, I will send the 40,000 men of the Second Army to invade the Land of Rain, and then the Land of Fire, through Mount Tirad. They will capture those high-value targets for ransom… I will also send my most trusted general, General An Ver, to ensure that all our goals are met."

"A very good decision, if I may say so myself."

Shogun Roa Du Tertae ended the voice call with an angry rant. "And once that damn traitorous bitch Kurotsuchi is given unto us and exchanged for the Hokage's son and his friends, I will personally defile her and execute her myself. I fucking hate her with all my heart… I hate her and all women like her who think they can be as powerful and influential as we men are. Women nowadays must relearn their proper place in our society… They should be subservient to us men. Those slutty disgusting women like Kurotsuchi are misguiding our youth, and they are dangerous threats to our long, just, and prosperous reign."

* * *

**_How did you all like Chapter 19? Feel free to leave comments or reviews, and kudos or favorites, and subscriptions or follows! ^_^_**

**_1) "...jagged crags appearing to jut out into the opaqueness..." is a reference to the very famous story, "The Most Dangerous Game"! ^_^_**

**_2) All the scenes involving the Total Station surveying instruments are based on real personal events (since my course is Civil Engineering, we had to learn surveying under Geodetic Engineering too), INCLUDING the prank Boruto did on Shikadai. One of my best friends pranked my group in the same way, and so my group leader got really angry at him... hahaha XD_**

**_3) They made an actual fortress for them to stay in... Wow =O XD_**

**_4) What did you guys think of Shogun Du Tertae's utter misogyny? Yikes, please don't be like him =(_**

**_5) OMG, there is a traitor within Konoha... And the secret mission is no longer so secret... What's going to happen to our beloved shinobi and kunoichi now? =O_**

**_Anyway, in Chapter 20: "The Strength to Protect", (*coming out September 1, 2019, as next Sunday/Aug. 25 will be a rest day for me ^_^) the Battle of Mount Tirad will begin! It'll be full of action and suspense! You can't miss it! And Chapter 21 (coming out September 8, 2019) will be entitled: "Through The Perilous Fight". No teaser for it yet because you'll need to read Chapter 20 first ;)_**

**_PS: For Filipinos out there, I'm sure you all know what Tirad is! ;)_**

**_For non-Filipinos, Tirad Pass (aka: the Philippine Thermopylae) was the site of a major battle in the Philippine-American War. To help President Emilio Aguinaldo escape capture, in December 2, 1899, General Gregorio Del Pilar (the Boy General) and 60 men served as the President's rear guard and defended the Tirad Pass (aka: Pasong Tirad) from an entire army of the invading imperialist Americans. They fought as hard as they could, and they delayed the Americans for 9 or 10 hours. However, in the end, all but eight of the original 60 were killed or executed by the Americans. Still, their sacrifice afforded President Aguinaldo and the bulk of his army just enough time to cross the Cordillera Mountains and escape, and he would go on to lead the fight for Philippine Independence for two more years._**

**_General Del Pilar, who was only 24, was shot in the neck by the American soldiers at the height/near the end of the battle and was killed. After the battle, the frenzied Americans burned the Filipino flags and looted Del Pilar's body of everything: his decorations and medals, his military uniform, letters and pictures from his girlfriend, and all his personal belongings. They even stripped him of all his clothes and exposed his corpse to the elements to rot, ostensibly for all to see what would happen if they too fought against the "Benevolent Assimilation" of White America upon the "Little Brown Brothers" that were the Filipinos. Damn racist imperialist bastards._**


	20. The Strength To Protect

_**HELLO AGAIN EVERYONE! I'm back after a one-week break, since I needed to take care of my physical and mental health. That being said, I'm also late by a day, because I usually post my new chapters on late Sunday night/early Monday morning, Philippine time. That's because of college life (my course is Civil Engineering after all, and it gets hectic and busy in a snap). Still, sorry about being late for Chapter 20! I'll try not to be late for Chapter 21 next Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019! ^_^**_

_**Anyway, I missed you all, my loyal readers! Thank you all so much for your continued support! I hope you're all still around, even with the 7-8 day break I had! I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and feel free to leave (non-troll) comments, reviews, likes, kudos, follows, and favorites! All of them help me grow more ^_^**_

* * *

**Chapter 20: The Strength to Protect**

The thin, chilly wind gently flew into the open stone-lined windows of the bedrooms, located inside the main quarters of the Fortress of Rem. It was past 3 in the morning of the seventh day; that is, the seventh day that the Konoha Squadron had been staying on Mount Tirad. It had also been almost seven days since the Fortress of Rem, specifically its inside structures and buildings, were completed by Denki, Iwabe, and Metal. After the fortress was finished, the surveillance missions began in earnest, and Denki regularly sent updates to Konoha every 6 to 8 hours, depending on the strength of the Wi-Fi internet connection he had brought along and the weather conditions on the mountain.

The previous week or so, which had been calm and somewhat monotonous for the Konoha ninja there, had followed this pattern of mostly spying on the Land of Earth from afar, and guarding the passes for any raiding parties from the Earth Army, whose goal would be to sabotage and sow chaos behind enemy lines in the Land of Rain. They have not encountered any of these small bands of Earth shinobi yet, but they could not afford to feel completely safe or become complacent. If they did, they might let a few shinobi slip past them undetected.

As the dawn was still a ways away, most of the Konoha detachment lay asleep on their mattresses, with a few exceptions. Sarada was one of those exceptions. She had only been staring up at the dark stone ceiling for the past hour or so, waiting for a slim chance of restive sleep that would never come. She had long given up on getting a good night's sleep that night; Chocho's snoring was much louder than usual, perhaps due to the combination of the colder night, the thinner air, and the less oxygen at their height. Sitting up and rubbing her slightly reddened eyes, she glanced at the bed beside hers. Sumire was tossing back and forth in her bed, which meant that she hadn't gotten much peaceful sleep either.

"Sumire?" Sarada whispered, not wanting to wake up anyone else. "Can't sleep either?"

A sigh left the lips of the purple-haired kunoichi, who flopped over onto her back and splayed her arms wide across her bed. She turned her head towards her two teammates, Wasabi and Namida, who were sleeping on their combined beds in each other's arms. Sumire then looked back at Sarada, the only other person awake in their room. "We should have gotten Namida to sing her lullaby fonic hymn before she and Wasabi went to bed last night… That would have put us right to sleep…"

"I'd like to try that out actually… I know she tried it on you and it worked, but I'm still curious about how her fonic hymns work… And how it feels to suddenly get drowsy and sleepy, like what my mom told me before we left Konoha…"

Sumire slowly sat up, letting her legs dangle from the side of her bedframe. "Maybe a walk outside could help? I'm sure that the night sky is very beautiful tonight, and all of the stars should be out."

"If it's not cloudy," Sarada pointed out before getting off her bed and taking up Sumire's suggestion. The two put on their slippers and some warmer clothes before walking through the quiet and somewhat dimly lit corridors of their main building.

The electrical system that was powering the entire fortress complex, the one that Denki had promised to lay down after the completion of the Rem Fortress's main structures, had been completed by midday of their second day there. Now all of the buildings had lights inside, and some of the rooms like the sleeping quarters for the boys, the girls, and for Kakashi and the other Jonin senseis, also had electric charging stations and some heating. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about the thinness of the air, so everyone was given a few oxygen bottles to help them acclimatize to the thin air better, and to catch their breath when needed.

"By the way," Sarada asked Sumire when they stepped foot on the snowy courtyard outside the stone building, "why were you still awake? Did Chocho keep you up too?"

"No," Sumire huffed and breathed in as much of the cold and fresh air as she could. "I was asleep for three hours… Then I had a nightmare… and then after I woke up, I got insomnia because of that nightmare… I didn't want to go back to sleep… not after reliving those memories…"

Sarada grasped Sumire's shoulder. "Was it about your father?"

Sumire nodded. "It was back when I was a kid… After my mom died, and my dad was descending into his hate-fueled madness… He really blamed Konoha for mom's death… If it weren't for them driving my family out of the Land of Fire, we would all still be happy… I wouldn't have gone through all those years of torture too…"

While the two girls were taking a stroll under the black, clear, and starry sky of the early morning, they bumped into Denki, who was walking back to the main quarters. "Good morning Denki," Sarada greeted him. "You're also up this early?"

"Yup! I sent my latest update to Konoha around an hour ago. I just finished my rounds tonight, and I'll be going to sleep soon. I just was checking to see if my surveillance systems and electrical grid were both running without any problems."

"And I'm sure there were none," Sumire smiled.

"Actually, strong winds were blowing a few hours ago, and they shifted some of the telescopic cameras out of position. Instead of the Land of Earth, they were now pointed at the Land of Grass, which was already covered by the other telescopes. I had to reorient the ones that moved back towards the Land of Earth's border."

The three ninja walked around in the courtyard, which had a thin layer of snowfall slightly obscuring the walkways. Around 30 meters to their right, near midway along the northern wall, was the Feres Gate, standing more than 20 meters in height. Its two huge, thick, heavy stone doors, which were formed in place by Iwabe, were being held in place, each by five metal contraptions installed by Denki. They were powerful hydraulic arms that were bolted firmly into the solid stone, and they were equally spaced between each other for maximum energy efficiency, as it relied on the electrical grid. Those ten hydraulic arms served as both hinges and machines to open the heavy stone doors quickly, which meant it could fully open within a time of around 15 to 20 seconds. They were activated by an iron lever that Denki had placed at the side of the gate, beside the winding staircase that gave access to the ramparts on top of the high walls. The Hod Gate and Spur Gate both had identical designs to the Feres Gate, and the three gates needed quite a lot of power to use, which was why Denki wanted the most efficient design for the gate openers, so as to lessen the strain on his multiple electrical generators and the grid it supplied.

"I also got the gate opening mechanisms to operate at maximum efficiency. That way, the electricity won't cut out anymore for the entire base, even whenever two of the three gates are being opened or closed at the same time…" Denki trailed off and adjusted his glasses. "Is that Nue?"

Sarada and Sumire both glanced in the direction where Denki was looking at. Sure enough, the two also saw Nue running down the path from the Dawn Observation Point, which was bathed in a dim glow from guiding lights. The special artificial summoning was rushing to them, even leaping from the top of the wall all the way to the thicker snow in that area, and it looked to be in a sort of panic, which made them even more curious.

"Sumire," Sarada questioned, "why is Nue out and about?"

"Nue recently told me that he loves to explore our dimension a lot. So I allowed him to go in and out of his dimension freely, while we're asleep, and without needing to tell me. That way, he can roam around, travel a bit, and look at all the sights for himself. I just remind him to be aware and to not show himself to strangers-"

_"__Can you hear me?"_ Sumire's eyes widened as she heard Nue's voice, but she could not tell if Nue had actually said it out loud or through their telepathic connection. She glanced towards Sarada, but her face showed no sign of anything out of the ordinary, like hearing Nue talk to them in their own language.

"Did you two hear Nue asking if we could hear him just now?"

_"__They can't hear me say anything aside from 'Nue Nue' in real life, you know?"_ Nue, who was now right in front of Sumire, answered for them. All the same, Sarada and Denki shook their heads, confirming for Sumire that Nue was using telepathy to speak with her. It made sense to Sumire now: All her other friends could only understand Nue if they were inside Nue's dimension. That was because there, Nue used its own internal energy, stored in the dimension itself, to translate its speech to everyone, to effectively communicate in their own language. In the real world, that was not the case.

"That means that Nue's talking to me through telepathy!"

"Wow," Denki knelt down and held Nue in his hands. "If only I could learn how you do that…"

But while Denki and Sarada heard Nue purring and resisting Denki's hold, Sumire instead heard a warning from her special summoning. _"Wait… Sumire… you must tell them… I saw some people climbing up the Tirad Mountain just a while ago!"_

"What do you mean, 'climbers are making their way up Mount Tirad now'? I thought all summit expeditions had been indefinitely postponed-"

_"__No, not from the Land of Rain! From the Land of Earth! And some of them were carrying weapons that looked similar to the guns you have!"_

Sumire felt a pang of fear, and it showed in her facial expression, which Sarada immediately noticed. "Sumi, are you okay?"

"Nue… are you sure about this?"

Nue visibly nodded while in Denki's hands. "Denki, we should go check the telescopes! Like right now!"

Sumire sprinted towards the Dawn Observation Point, where all of Denki's surveillance equipment was. Nue ran behind her, and behind Nue were Denki and Sarada. "Wait! Sumire, what's going on?"

Sumire ran up the winding staircase to the ramparts on the high walls then rushed along the walkway to the short bridge to the observation deck. She climbed the snowy slope to the smooth stony deck, and then tried to look further down the mountain. Of course, as it was around 3:30 in the early morning hours, all she saw was the darkness of the night and the white snow reflecting the pale moonlight.

"Sumire!" Denki panted after he and Sarada arrived at the stone observation deck. "What's the matter? I just checked the instruments an hour ago, and they're all pointing where they should be."

"I can explain, but let me first see if what Nue said was true." Sumire continued to look out into the darkness for any sign of what Nue had told her about. "Nue said that some people were climbing Mount Tirad right now," she explained to her two friends. "From the Land of Earth." Finding it futile to look in the dark with her naked eyes, she instead walked over to one of the telescopes. She swung it to the west and angled it downwards, so that she could look further down the mountain trail into the Land of Earth.

"Wait! Be careful with that!" Denki pleaded. After a few seconds of Sumire seemingly staring blankly into the binoculars of the telescope, Denki gently pulled her away. He then used his telescopes while suggesting, "Nue could have spotted a raiding party-"

Once he saw the same thing that Sumire and Nue had both seen, Denki did not bother to finish his sentence. Sarada was left confused by their reactions; Sumire had a grim look on her face, while Denki seemed petrified.

"Did you see the raiding party?" She more or less pushed Denki off the telescope and took a look for herself. Then she saw though the binocular telescope, with her very own eyes, the many silhouetted shadows of an entire army camping at the foot of the mountain on the Land of Earth's side.

"Holy… fucking… shit."

*******XXXXXXX*******

The Rem Fortress was abuzz with hectic, rushed, nervous, and panicked activity. The sun had only risen less than half an hour ago, but everyone inside the fortress walls was wide-awake, having been alerted to the coming threat by Sarada, Sumire, and Denki. Most of the Konoha ninjas that were garrisoning the pass were now gathering inside the map room of their main building. They had been summoned by Kakashi and their senseis for an emergency meeting that would involve setting their course of action, whether it was to evacuate to Ame, or to hold the pass at all costs. However, Kakashi and Shikadai were not yet inside the room for the meeting; the two of them were still surveying their current predicament and weighing their options over at the Dawn Observation Deck, which overlooked the uppermost portions of the Hod and Feres trails.

The door swung open, and everyone inside expected to see Kakashi and Shikadai. Instead, they saw Denki, folded laptop in hand, his forehead drenched in sweat.

"Denki!" Boruto asked incredulously, "How could we not have seen them coming? You had all those long-range telescopes and all, so how could we have missed them coming?"

"They must have gone a different path," Denki suggested. "A path that my telescopes couldn't see."

Sarada asked the seemingly panicking Denki, "Have you contacted Konoha about our situation?"

"That was what I needed to talk to you about. It looks like our Internet connection's been jammed! I can't get our SOS messages through!"

Sumire joined their conversation. "I'm guessing that the Earth Army has some kind of proximity interference devices that could jam radio and Internet signals when they're near enough. I've heard about that technology being experimented on some months ago."

"Inojin," Boruto called him from across the room, "can't you send the messages to your dad? You have your ink birds and all."

"I could try," Inojin replied, "but it's a really far distance. The birds might not even get halfway to Konoha. They might get caught in a rain shower that we can't see from here and be destroyed. And even if they did, it would take around day and a half, at the very least."

"It's still worth a try," Sarada encouraged him. "The enemy is close by, and we have to call for help." After a few seconds of thought, Inojin nodded.

Boruto wondered aloud, "Where are Kakashi-sensei and Shikadai anyway? And now that I think about it, Iwabe isn't here either."

"Iwabe is readying the Hod and Feres Passes right now," Denki informed Boruto. "He's digging out trenches and foxholes across the trails, and he's also placing traps and blockages at the chokepoints. Even if we choose to evacuate the base, Iwabe's defenses will slow the Earth Army's advance nonetheless."

"Kakashi-sensei and Shikadai could be planning how we'll defend the fortress right now," Houki suggested while passing by them with a glass of water. "And they'll just tell us about their decision when they're done."

"Correct, Houki." The eyes of Houki seemed to glimmer, as he knew that unmistakable voice. He quickly turned around and saw Kakashi entering the room and heading to the center of the stone table, with Shikadai and Iwabe following him inside.

"Kakashi-sensei," Houki bowed in reverence. "What is it that you will have us do?"

"I'll be explaining our war plan now," Kakashi patted his shoulder. "So everyone, gather around and listen up." Shikadai unfurled the map of the mountain passes on the table. Denki, Sumire, Boruto, and Sarada carefully lifted the 3-D model of Mount Tirad, which Denki had printed a few days ago, onto to the same table, so it could serve as an added reference.

"Shikadai and I expect large-scale assaults along the trail of Hod Pass. It's a gentler slope and an easier climb, and so I would focus most of our strong defenses here."

"Team 7, you four will man the forward foxhole here." Kakashi pointed at a specific place on the topographic map; it was by a tiny gorge-like feature where the Hod Pass narrowed into a key bottleneck, and the frontline trench itself was on a tall ridge that the usual Hod trail snaked around. Iwabe marked it on the 3-D model with a toothpick, attached to which was a custom paper flag that had the number 7 written on it. "It's the narrowest portion of the Hod trail, and soldiers will have to funnel through this to move further up Mount Tirad. And this will be our first line of defense."

"Here, you will bear the brunt of the direct assaults," Shikadai warned them. "But you guys are the most capable team here, so you are the best choice we have for this. Are you up for this?"

"I'd wish we have some more help," Boruto worriedly sighed. "I mean, if Kakashi-sensei is correct, we'll be front and center when the heavy fighting starts, you know?"

Kakashi allayed Boruto's fears. "Rest assured, others will be watching your backs. Team 10 will be operating at the fallback line." Kakashi shifted his finger up the trail on the map to a position much closer to the Sheltered Col where the fortress stood, and Iwabe marked it on the 3-D printed model using another toothpick-flag, this time showing the number 10. "It's higher up Hod trail from the forward foxhole. It is located at the intersection of Hod Trail and Traverse Couloir, so Team 10 will be in charge of preventing any assault on the fortress from bypassing them from Feres Trail using the gully that connects the two trails."

"We're also going to prevent any soldiers from using the Traverse Couloir to flank you guys from behind," Shikadai assured Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Konohamaru. "And if you guys decide to retreat, you can join up with us at the fallback line's trenches. However, it's less defensible than your foxhole, because your position is right in front of the bottleneck, while ours can be attacked from two different sides, front and right, at the same time."

"We'll try our best not to retreat then," Sarada proudly asserted. "You better watch our backs though."

"Of course we will," Chocho laughed.

"Wait…" Mitsuki stood on a stone chair and examined the 3-D model from the supposed location of the fallback line. "This is wrong… Team 10 won't be able to see our position from theirs. The Hod Trail curves by the Western Ridge, and the ridge blocks it from view completely."

Inojin climbed onto the seat and looked for himself, and then nodded. "He's right, we won't be able to see them from there."

"And that is where Team 15 comes in," Kakashi elaborated as he walked to the 3-D model of Mount Tirad. He pointed at a mound of white snow right next to the denoted fallback trench fortifications. "I'm designating Team 15 as Overwatch and Support Fire, since Sumire and Namida both have ranged attacks, Sumire with her water bullets and firearms, and Namida with her Sound Style Jutsus. They will be stationed at this rise, next to the fallback line, and around a hundred meters away from the forward line of defense. The rise has a great vantage point on Team Seven's position, and so Sumire and Namida can help out Team 7 with suppressing fire. Also, since they are next to the fallback dugouts, Wasabi and Hanabi will be able to assist Team 10 with hand-to-hand combat to help repel assaults on their lines. And even better, it has a direct view of the closer half of the Traverse Couloir, so Sumire and Namida can snipe into the natural trench once the enemy comes rushing through. This way, we shall be able to make Hod Pass a sort of crossfire field, with each line of defense supporting the others in their own ways."

Boruto's fears were allayed, and he agreed to the plan. So Kakashi continued, "That almost takes care of the defenses for Hod Pass, so let's move on to Feres Pass. Personally, I expect much less fighting here, since it is a harder climb than the trail of Hod, and it is a lot narrower and steeper too. Still, since Iwabe, Metal, and Team 40 put in a lot of effort in laying out their traps and defenses, I've decided to station Teams 5 and 40 here. After all, you guys were the ones familiar with your defenses. So Teams 5 and 40, I will leave it up to you to determine who amongst you will be the vanguard, who will be in ranged roles, and who will be in support roles. Understand?"

"Hold on!" Houki asked his idol, "What about us, Team 25? What are we going to do? Defend the fortress itself?"

"No, your team will be the runners. Your job will be to make supply runs to and from all defensive stations and the fortress, and resupply all line of defense on both trails with whatever supplies they need, like food, water, spare ninja tools, oxygen bottles, or medical kits. You will also act as reinforcements and aid the other defensive positions when they need it, when they call you for help. That way, our defenses can be somewhat flexible in the upcoming battles. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course Kakashi-sensei!" Houki pulled down his black facemask, grinned, and proudly saluted.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Sumire!" Namida motioned to her with a worried look on her face, "Come here for a second."

Sumire joined Wasabi and Namida, who both were crouched down on the top of their snowy rise and beneath the mid-afternoon sky. Wasabi was scanning the slope with her naked eyes. "Wasabi," Sumire asked, "what do your cat-eyes see?"

"Scouts. I count 24 of them on Hod Trail. There are probably some more on Feres, but Iwabe and the others there haven't yet reported any."

"How far are they from us?"

"They're nearing the bottleneck now. They're approaching the frontline defenses where Sarada and her teammates are stationed at."

"I'll warn them now," Sumire quickly took initiative and pulled out her walkie-talkie, all while going supine on the cold snow and adjusting her newly-reassembled, bipod-supported sniper rifle. "Boruto-kun, do you read me? This is Sumire."

_"__Hey Sumire! What's up?"_

"Watch out, scouts approaching your position."

_"__Wait, what? Shit!"_

"Don't worry! We have our eyes on them… They don't look like they know you're there."

Sarada's voice now crackled from the radio speaker. _"Are they heavily armed? Should we take the fight to them?"_

Sumire looked at Wasabi, who shook her head. "No," Sumire relayed, "they don't look that dangerous. As for attacking them, I think it would be better if you surprised them instead. Let them come to you."

_"__Okay then… You have our backs, right?"_

"Of course I do. I see you guys through my sniper's scope."

Not a minute later, the twenty-four scouts of the Earth Army stopped in front of the snow trenches of the ridge, which had been dug merely hours ago. "Halt," the commanding officer ordered, and the soldiers that he was in charge of stopped moving forward.

He then slowly walked closer to the trench, but then Boruto stood up from behind the trench, thrust out his hand, and yelled back, "Stop right there! You'll go no further!"

"Boruto, you idiot!" Sarada also stood up, trying to pull him back down into the safety of the trench, but to no avail. Mitsuki decided to stand up as well, more or less to show solidarity with his two teammates.

Sighing deeply, Konohamaru got to his feet and climbed out from the trench. He slowly approached the other commanding officer, his hand raised in a sign of a peaceful parley. "You can turn around now. No blood needs to be shed this day."

"Why should we turn around now? Blood will be shed nonetheless. This is war, after all. And much less of our blood will be spilled if we prevent you lot from improving your defenses."

"Because I know that you don't want to die right now. And neither do your soldiers. Even if people are going to die in this war, I think your own lives will still be what you ultimately focus on-"

"Maybe you should think about it this way. There are how many of you here right now? You can't be greater than 50."

"We number twenty-five."

"We number more than forty thousand," the enemy officer scoffed. "We have superior numbers. We have superior weapons. We have the superior will-"

Suddenly, the fifteen men of the group all turned back to descend the trail from which they came, without any order from the officer. Seeing this and reddening with embarrassment, the commanding officer quickly relented and gave a belated order to them. "Give the information we've gathered back to base camp!"

But while the men retreated, the eight women of the division looked as if they were standing their ground. The officer commanded them, "Return to base camp, now."

"Don't follow that order," a tall, thin, fair-skinned woman with long, jet-black hair countered, and the other seven looked to her and nodded to her instead of the officer.

"Damn you Gengania," their commanding officer slapped the woman who stood up to him, "learn your place woman!" He then chastised the others and pointed to them in a threatening gesture. "And you disobedient women-" But within the same second he uttered that phrase, a jarring bang emanated from higher up the Hod trail, and a bullet from Sumire's rifle struck him in the jaw, killing him near-instantly. His lifeless body collapsed to the ground in a gory heap.

"WAIT! DON'T SHOOT US!" The woman who defied her commanding officer pleaded to the Konoha ninja. She forcefully threw down her large gun at her feet, knelt gently, and looked reassuringly at the seven other girls behind her.

"Gengania," one of her friends asked nervously, "are you really sure about this?"

"Trust me Conwi," she replied. "I've been to Konoha a few times before. It's a hundred times better there than in Iwa. But even then, all eight of us promised to stick together, remember?"

"Okay then," Conwi replied, "we trust you." They all raised their hands and dropped to their knees to surrender. "Just please… don't hurt us…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Woah," Denki commented as he saw the newly captured prisoners-of-war. "It's like you captured an entire harem, Boruto. Are you sure you didn't just kill off all the guys?"

"Shut up Denki," Boruto laughed before heading straight to the main building's cafeteria to eat his late lunch. "The only one who died was their officer. Sumire made sure of that."

Sumire panicked, "Hawawawa sorry… He was violent and angry to his own soldiers, not to mention women, and that made me really angry. Plus, I saw he was being erratic, and I thought he was dangerous to you guys…"

"Please don't blame yourself. He was such an asshole," the girl named Gengania reassured Sumire. "I really appreciate you permanently shutting his woman-hating mouth up."

"See Sumire?" Sarada patted Sumire on the shoulder. "Your judgment call turned out to be right after all."

"I suppose…"

While the others in the Rem Fortress looked on with wary eyes, Denki led the eight female prisoners-of-war to a small one-story structure that had windows on all four sides and a simple doorway entrance. It was one of the few spare sheds that Iwabe had constructed in case of emergencies, such as if another building was damaged or was full. The girls were shepherded into the large shed, and once they had all settled down, Sarada and Sumire volunteered to ask them about their group surrender. But before they began, Kakashi strode inside the room. Upon seeing the dirty faces and the labored breathing of the surrendering prisoners-of-war, he asked them with a compassionate voice, "Are you all comfortable?"

The eight girls nodded in unison. "We're as comfy as we can be, given this damned situation," Gengania sighed. As she did, her stomach gave off a fierce growl, which was soon followed by two more stomachs begging for food and water.

Kakashi knelt down in front of them, reassuring them by his action that he meant them no harm. "Have you all eaten today?" They now shook their heads and frowned.

"We all last ate yesterday morning," the girl with the camera, which was labeled with a tag that read, _"Camera of Conwi" _hanging from her neck, told Kakashi. "Well, except for Gengania," she pointed to her friend. "Our commanding officer denied her rations yesterday because she was standing up for all of us girls."

"You've gone two days without eating!?"

"Not really," Gengania tried to say, although her stomach contradicted her once again. "Okay, I haven't eaten a full meal in almost three days, but my friends here all set aside a part of their daily rations to give me something to eat. I've been living on what they gave me-"

"But it's still nowhere near enough," Conwi protested. "You're slowly starving to death!"

"I'll be fine… And it was worth it, since you all got your fair rations too… Don't worry about me. I'm more worried about you girls-"

"That just won't do," Kakashi stopped her. "Nobody deserves to be treated like this." Sumire was reminded of her traumatic childhood and her experiences of living day-by-day deep in hunger and severe poverty. She felt a pang of sadness and pain spike in her chest, and she grimaced towards Sarada, who quickly deduced what she had remembered and gripped her hand to reassure Sumire that she was not alone. Not wanting to have an emotional breakdown right then and there, she grappled with her dark memories, wrangling them in and shoving them back into the back of her mind.

Moments after Sumire cleared her mind of her negative thoughts, she heard Kakashi ask, "Are any of you familiar with the Conventions of the Shinobi Union? Specifically with the Rules of War, and even more specifically the part the dictates how prisoners-of-war are supposed to be treated?"

Only Denki, Sarada, and Gengania vigorously nodded, although Sumire made a sees hand gesture that meant she was only somewhat familiar with the terms of the agreement. "Okay then… Denki, how much food do we have stored as of this moment?"

"There's about a month's worth of food for the 25 people garrisoning this fortress right now. If we need more food, for more people or for a longer stay, Iwabe told me that he would be able to cook up some more."

"If my memory serves me correct," the former Sixth Hokage reasoned, "the ruling of the conventions stated that prisoners-of-war must be fed, at the very least, one full meal per day."

"That's right," Sarada concurred. "One full meal of food that isn't spoiled or rotten yet."

"But I've decided to go beyond these conventions, to treat them better than the bare minimum expected of us. I'm ordering that our prisoners-of-war will be fed the same amount as everyone else guarding these passes: Three sufficient meals a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Denki, please tell this to Iwabe as soon as possible. Let's not make them wait for their food any longer."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei," Denki saluted and hurried to Iwabe, who was last in the mess hall cooking for the garrison.

"Umm… Kakashi, err, Lord Sixth Hokage," Gengania asked with her voice shaking with uncertainty, "I think I speak for all my friends here… May we ask for asylum in the Land of Fire?"

*******XXXXXXX*******

After hearing the order from Kakashi and Denki, Iwabe quickly cooked up a fresh batch of food for their eight captives. Within fifteen minutes, the scrumptious food made its way to the shed where the prisoners lay, and once the plates of fried rice, corned beef, and onion-filled omelets were placed on the central round table, the eight starving women dug in and munched. Sumire and Sarada sat beside them, as the two had volunteered to stay in the shed and speak to them. In her mind, Sarada noted that they ate with more desperation and delight than even Chocho when she claimed to be starving, albeit she had just eaten a full meal less than three hours prior. _"That just goes to show,"_ she told herself, _"that none of us really know what it's like to go hungry-"_

But then she glanced at Sumire, who was already conversing with Gengania, Conwi, and another girl named Ivyred. "How do you girls like the food? My friend Iwabe cooked it."

"It's so tasty!" Gengania grinned. "And I'm just so happy to be able to eat again! It's been so long!"

_"__Except Sumi," _Sarada continued her inner thoughts._ "She's the only one in our group who's ever experienced poverty and abuse… She's endured so much pain in her early life… She deserves to be happy in the future…"_

Sarada sat down beside Sumire and also began conversing with their new captives. "You girls don't look like kunoichis. You all seem too nice and soft for it."

Gengania nodded in response. "We were force-drafted into the Earth Army," she explained. "All eight of us were college students at NULE, the _National University of the Land of Earth_, when the coup happened. Shogun Du Tertae really didn't give a shit as to who he was sending to war, or if all soldiers in his army have more than formal training, or even if everyone had weapons or special skills like you shinobi and kunoichis do."

Sumire asked, "All of you were in college? What were you guys studying?" Sumire then had an idea she wanted to try. "Oh, and how about you all introduce yourselves to us too? You can give your names, ages, courses, and then maybe something interesting about you?"

"You now sound like a schoolteacher on the first day of classes," Sarada burst into giggles. "I swear, it's so convincing…"

Gengania, who was clearly the leader of the eight girls, spoke first. "My name is Gengania. I'm 21 years old, and I'm in my fourth year now. BA Linguistics is my major, and I also have a minor in BA Creative Writing, specializing in the Old Earth Language." She then paused to think. "Something interesting… Well, I was a prominent student-activist before the coup d'état and this war, and so I led rallies within NULE against Kurotsuchi and her administration for a myriad of reasons, such as the Fabrication Crisis, the continued neglect of our old language, and her unnecessary fights with the powerful clans. And just because of my activism and anti-Kurotsuchi stances, I've been red-tagged by her repeatedly!"

"Red-tagged?" Sumire tilted her head. "I'm not familiar with the term. What does it mean?"

"It means that the Iwa government accused me of being a part of the underground leftist insurgency in the Land of Earth," she explained and laughed dismissively, emphasizing the absurdity of the charges. "Even my own family thought I was becoming a rebel. But it's not the life for me; I'm not built for that kind of lifestyle, and as much as possible, I still want to help my country within legal means."

Sumire turned to Sarada. "I don't recall hearing about any underground movements in Iwa. Did you?"

Sarada thought about it. "Kurotsuchi sure kept it hidden from the outside world. I do remember Kirara mentioning something about the people's discontent there when we first met her, but I'm not completely sure if this is what she was talking about."

After Gengania, the girl beside her, who had dark hair, slightly brown skin, and noticeable eye bags, introduced herself. "I'm Panga, 21 years old, and Fourth Year Civil Engineering. As you can see with my deep, dark eye bags, you can tell I don't get too much sleep because I'm in an engineering course. I'm also older than Gengania by around five months, so I'm the oldest of our group."

"Wait," Sumire clarified, "you all knew each other before this? As in, you all were close?"

"Yup," Panga nodded proudly. "The eight of us have been sort of like a squad for a long while now. Anyway Conwi, you go next."

"Fine," the woman with very white skin, the small black camera strapped around her neck, and somewhat brownish hair, relented. "As you two may have heard, my name is Conwi. I'm a Fine Arts student, so I guess I'm the most creative in our group as far as visual arts goes."

"Wow, fine arts?" Sarada commented. "I heard that people go for days without sleeping just to finish their plates and projects."

"Count me among one of them," Conwi laughed dryly. "My eye bags may not be as noticeable as Panga's, but I sleep much less than she does. In fact, I'd say I sleep only an hour a day."

Sarada looked at her with a stunned face. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah! I just take care of my face more, I guess? Plus, half-hour power naps do help."

"They really do," another young girl whose eyes and hair were both light green spoke up. "I'm Ivyred. I'm the youngest in the group, 17 years old, and I'm only in my sophomore year in Public Administration."

Gengania vouched for her, "Even though she's the youngest, she's probably the most hardworking among us. Also, she cares a lot for the poor and the forgotten ones of society. A true public servant in the making."

Ivyred pointed out, "Gengania, you are my personal idol after all. I got those traits hammered into me just by your influence."

"I guess it's my turn now," the woman beside Ivyred quietly said. She was dressed in a dark indigo kimono, which was unique among her friends, and her weak voice indicated that she was a mixture of tired and nervous. "My name's Fujibayashi, 20 years old, third year BA Political Science and BA History. You could say I'm the social sciences buff in our squad."

Sumire asked with piqued curiosity, "Double majors? Wow, how were you holding up before you were drafted?"

"I felt like I was dying for the previous two semesters, but I pulled through. I might be one semester delayed from graduating, but I wasn't really in a rush to graduate anyway. Though now, I'm not sure if any of us can continue our studies."

"I'm sure you can all apply to Konoha Academy," Sumire reassured the girls from Iwa. "The new college has quite a lot of courses, since it shifted more towards the increasing job demands of Konoha."

"Do they have BS Horticulture there?" Sarada and Sumire turned to a baby-faced woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and striking hazel brown irises. Her arms were clenched around the chest of another girl, whose skin was slightly brown, compared to her short hair that was darker brown, and her eyes were almost of the same color as the one who was embracing her. "I'm Yamada. I'm a second year student like Ivyred. Horticulture is my course, but I don't think it's something you find everywhere."

Sarada was surprised. "Isn't that just planting? Why would that need a course of its own-"

"It's not just about planting! It's about keeping plants healthy and happy, maintaining gardens of all types, even how to culture and breed many different types of flowers!"

Meanwhile, the girl Yamada's arms were draped around giggled and reached to touch Yamada's cheek. "Calm down, Yamada…" The blonde apologized, and so the brunette began to introduce herself. "Tomoka here, Third Year Sports Science, and I was one of the leading student-athletes in NULE for Track and Field, specifically running mid-distances. Also, sorry about my girlfriend here, she gets triggered whenever someone brushes off the importance of gardening."

"So you two are together?" Sarada clarified. "I mean, since you called her your girlfriend and all."

Tomoka beamed proudly, while Yamada reddened heavily and looked away, but she nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, we've been together since the end of first year high school, so that means we've been a couple for almost five years now!"

Sarada nudged Sumire, who gave two thumbs up in a show of support. "My two teammates, Wasabi and Namida, are also in a similar relationship, though they haven't been together for as long, like around a year and a half if I recall correctly. Anyway, I'm so sure that you four will get along once you meet them!"

"Hmm, it looks like I'm the last one," the girl whose twin-tailed peach hair matched with the color of her eyeglasses sighed. "So hello there! I'm Mikawa from BS Landscape Architecture. I've been BFF's with Yamada and Tomoka since our high school days, and when they told me that they had gotten together, I was the first to throw my full support behind them." After taking a break to eat her last spoonful of rice and omelet, she continued. "In college, through Yamada and Tomoka, I met everyone else here, and after a long time, I got absorbed into the group too."

"We'll try to remember your names and faces," Sarada smiled. "In the meantime, finish your food, and then tell us more about why you all want to apply for asylum in the Land of Fire."

"Another question would be, 'Why did I hear our names mentioned a while ago?'" Sarada and Sumire turned their heads to the doorway and saw Wasabi and Namida entering the room.

Sumire asked, "You heard me?"

"I was across the courtyard with Namida. Remember, I have very sensitive ears."

"I just mentioned you two being together, and that you might get along with Yamada and Tomoka here," Sumire pointed at the two lovers from Iwa. "They've been together for almost five years."

"Ooooh alright! Tell us more!" Their attention caught, Wasabi and Namida both sat down and joined the growing conversation.

While Yamada, Tomoka, Wasabi, and Namida branched off into their own conversation, Gengania turned to Sarada and Sumire and asked them, "You wanted to know why we want to leave behind the Land of Earth for good, right? Well, ever since the new Shogun took power, things grew so much worse. The forced conscription of everyone from ages 16 to 60, the suppression of the rights to free press and protests, imprisoning the remaining social leaders who did not side with him after his coup, and by far the worst, the extrajudicial killings committed by his death squads. Anyone suspected of harboring ideas against the Shogun and the Land of Earth is arrested and interrogated. In many cases I've seen or heard of, there are clear indications that the people arrested were subjected to severe beatings and torture. And in around a third of the cases, they never come back. Their mutilated bodies were found instead, dumped straight in the landfills or into the rivers."

"All those things sound horrible," Sumire thought out loud, "especially the last one. Why does the Shogun want to hurt his own people?"

"I know right?" Panga nodded. "And it's the poor who suffer most because of him. He's even holding this so-called 'war on illegal drugs and immorality', but in reality it's just a war on both the poor and his enemies. His policemen just frame the ones they kill by placing sachets of drugs and a weapon beside their corpses. They even have the gall to accuse them of fighting back!"

"It's insane really!" Gengania's voice rose in anger. "Instead of actually helping the poor by eradicating poverty, they are eradicating the poor themselves, all while letting poverty worsen!"

"They're also destroying our environment and what few precious resources we have in our environment," Yamada threw up her arms. "They say that those resources are necessary for the war effort, but I just know that they'll be shipped right to the owners of the rich corporations, which are Shogun Du Tertae's friends and allies and cronies. Ughhh…"

Sarada asked in reply, "If it's that bad, why haven't I heard of any revolts or strikes?"

"Because of fake news," the eight girls from Iwa responded at the same time, as if they were a choir. After laughing for a few seconds, Ivyred further explained the situation. "In the Land of Earth right now, there's an overabundance of fake news, if you could even call it news, and what we call the media trolls that spread them. They're fanatical maniacs that support Shogun Roa Du Tertae to the death, and their job is basically to spread their political propaganda that makes him look like a god of sorts. People with even the slightest level of critical thinking can see past their bullshit, but because of so much fake news flying about, the truth is shrouded and very hard to see or determine. And when that happens, the majority of people won't know what to do or who to believe and trust anymore. This is the cost of their lies."

"It sounds like the guy is making a cult of personality out of himself… wait…" Wasabi trailed off. She stood up and looked around in confusion.

"Wasabi?" Namida held her hand. "Is something wrong?"

"Do any of you… hear that?"

Namida, Sumire, and Sarada shook her heads and asked, "What do your cat-ears hear?"

"It's like a rumbling noise…" She headed beyond the doorway and stared at the hazy heavens. "…Coming from the sky…"

The three other kunoichi and the eight captives followed her outside, and gradually the noise that Wasabi had heard began to reveal itself more to them, as if it was coming closer to them. Suddenly, out from the high clouds flew a bird soaring high in the afternoon sky. The longer they watched it, the more they thought that it was a peculiar bird, since it did not seem to flap its long and narrow wings at all. It also flew far higher than any bird they knew, and since they could see it from such a height, it also was the biggest bird that they have ever seen. Its greyish white body, which seemed to reflect a beautiful, almost metallic sheen, looked to be smooth and near featureless, as if it were featherless, and its roaring sounded similar to a deafening whirring. Everyone within the Rem Fortress flooded outside to view the never-before-seen spectacle as it flew directly overhead.

"That doesn't look like or sound like a bird," Wasabi reckoned. "In fact, it doesn't look natural."

Boruto suggested, "Could it be some sort of blimp or airship?"

"It's far too fast and loud to be a blimp," Konohamaru replied.

Sumire turned to the eight girls, all of whom were awestruck as well. "Do any of you know what that is?" They shook their heads. Soon, the object passed through the white clouds and disappeared from their sight, although its roaring sound echoed and reverberated for much longer. Shikadai sighed. "It's not a good omen, that's for sure."

* * *

_**How did you all like Chapter 20? The completed Rem Fortress, Sarada and Sumire hanging out in the dead of night, the enemy army at the gates/at the mountain, **_**_Kakashi's war plan, the way I described the passes of Mount Tirad (I imagined it all hehehe ^_^), _**_**the first action of the Battle of Mount Tirad, the eight surrendering POW's and asylum-seekers, Kakashi's decision to treat them kindly, **_**_and the things that the eight girls said have been happening to their country._**

_**Feel free to leave comments and reviews and likes and kudos, hehee ^_^**_

_**It was only the first day of battle, and it was mainly reconnaissance on the part of the Land of Earth! But it will change for sure in Chapter 21: "Through The Perilous Fight", and Chapter 22: "Running Out of Time". The Battle of Mount Tirad will be a bloody and desperate fight for survival. Remember, I named it Mount Tirad for a reason. Not everyone will make it out alive... =O**_

_**PS: What do you guys think the peculiar bird they saw was? It's pretty obvious, but answer your guesses in your reviews if ever! ^_^**_

**_PPS: Most the things Gengania and the other girls mentioned (ex: The War Against The Poor, the extrajudicial killings/"Salvaging" done by Duterte's Death Squads, arrests of political enemies, the destruction of the environment, the overabundance of fake news and trolls and DDS political propaganda, etc) are based on what's been happening in my own country, which is really sad ='(_**

**_Please pray for my country too... :(_**


	21. Through The Perilous Fight

_**Hello everyone! I'm finally back! I feel so relieved! Chapters 20 and 21 were among the hardest chapters to write, so I'm glad that I (hopefully?) was able to make both chapters with some good quality too.**_

_**Sorry that I'm a week late (again hahaha huhuhu, I promise it won't happen next week =D). It was a combination of fatigue and sickness and college life and the fact that Chapter 21 blew up in importance! XD ^_^**_

_**Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Warning though, there will be some bloody and gory scenes... Yikes =O**_

**_Please feel free to leave (non-troll) comments or reviews, likes or kudos or favorites or follows! Everything constructive helps! ^_^ _**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Through The Perilous Fight**

The cold mountain air blew into the wary eyes and faces of the Konoha ninja, who were hidden in the defenses they dug out of the Hod Pass. Those whose positions afforded them a view of the lower reaches of the Hod trail let their eyes peer over their defenses, while those who did not, such as Team 10 at the fallback line of trenches, huddled around the small fire to warm themselves further. The sun had risen more than three hours ago, and yet the harsh cold temperature remained, provoking shivers and goosebumps from most of the group guarding Hod Pass.

From her position on top of her team's hill, Wasabi saw with her crystal clear vision the soldiers of the Earth Army slowly ascending the slope and massing with each bottleneck they encountered on the trail, and she kept relaying the information to her team, the other defensive positions on their trail, and to Kakashi, who was standing beside Hanabi. From time to time, Kakashi would use the pair of binoculars he had strapped around his neck to confirm Wasabi's astute observations. On the other hand, Sumire used the scope on her rifle to scan the frontline trenches, and she constantly spotted Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Konohamaru peeking cautiously over the top edge of their small snowy ridge to see if there any enemies that had passed through the major bottleneck.

"Remember everyone," Hanabi reminded the defenders of Hod Pass on her radio, "do not engage until Kakashi-sensei and I give the order. Until then, stay out of sight-"

"They're approaching the frontlines," Wasabi interrupted. "Team 7, please keep your heads down, okay?"

Kakashi once again put the binoculars to his eyes. He saw that the first enemy soldiers had now passed through the mini-gorge bottleneck, and they were now gathering at the small clearing just beyond it. After telling Hanabi what he saw, the Hyuga asked in reply, "So, shall we begin?"

"Wait… not yet…" Kakashi looked on through his twin telescopes, intently observing the advancing troops through their twin lenses. He noted that Wasabi had been correct in saying that they were slow to advance up Hod trail. No one yet was climbing further up the slope to the ridge of the frontline foxholes. Instead, they were awaiting further reinforcements below the ridgeline. Kakashi surmised that they were preparing for a massed attack, hoping to overwhelm the defenders by sheer numbers.

Meanwhile, Hanabi consulted Konohamaru, Moegi, and Shikadai over the radio, and then told Kakashi, "Shikadai, Konohamaru, and the others want to attack now. What do you say?"

Kakashi slowly lowered his binoculars while keeping his gaze on the growing number of Land of Earth soldiers massing beyond the major bottleneck, but he did not yet give the order to begin the attack. Hanabi pressed the button on her radio again. "Hold Fire," she repeated again and again. "Hold your attack… Do not engage yet… Hold… Hold… Hold…"

Through her sniper's magnifying scope, Sumire noticed two things. First, she saw the enemy soldiers were amassing and filling the spaces of what Kakashi-sensei had planned yesterday as the killing fields, as if they were landing on a beach for a large naval invasion. Second, she spotted Team 7 hunkered down behind their hidden trench line, high on the ridge, out of sight of the advancing column.

Then, she heard footsteps in the snow coming from behind them. Turning around, she saw that Shikadai was running up the rise from his position at the foot of the hill. Looking at his fallback line, she made out that Inojin, Chocho, and Moegi-sensei were holding down the defenses in his absence. Upon reaching the top Shikadai asked Namida, who was prone beside Wasabi, to let him borrow her binoculars. She nodded and handed them over.

After a few moments of observing the situation, Shikadai warned Kakashi, "They will take the pass in no time if we don't resist!"

Kakashi calmly replied, all while keeping his focus on his binoculars, "Wait until the area between the bottleneck and the frontline trench is full."

Less than a minute passed, and the killing field was nearly filled to capacity. Moreover, the Earth soldiers were now beginning to advance closer to the hidden frontline defenses. Kakashi took in a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go. Commence the attack."

Hanabi nodded and relayed the order to the teams on the pass. "Attack at will! I repeat, attack at will!"

Sumire punctuated her sensei's order by pulling her trigger and firing the first shot. The startling bang from her sniper rifle shattered the tense tranquility that had settled upon the mountain. The bullet itself entered the sea of soldiers, piercing flesh, bone, and organs. It grievously tumbled its way through muscles and arteries, and Sumire saw that the singular bullet struck down at least five enemy soldiers who were climbing up the Hod trail. She fired two more rounds in quick succession, and she was sure that both rounds easily hit more than the targets she had aimed at, since there were so many soldiers of the Earth Army packed into such a tight space.

Immediately, many of the soldiers from the Land of Earth reacted to the gunshots by dropping to the ground. The entirety of the lower Hod trail became engulfed in a mind-numbing chorus of agonized screaming and the rat-tat-tat sounds coming from the semi-automatic rifles of the inexperienced yet heavily armed Land of Earth soldiers. Orders were shouted amongst the officers and the soldiers, and most of them began to crawl behind what little cover of snow and rock there was on the trail. Others kept rushing forward, either directly scaling the steep slope to crest the ridge quickly, or following the gently winding trail of Hod that snaked around the steep slope.

However, when a few soldiers were halfway up the snowy slope on their way to crest the ridge, Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Konohamaru stood up from their trench beyond the top of the ridgeline. Volleys of shouted warning callouts and bullets followed, although Sarada had cloaked her entire team, shadow clones included, with orange-red Susanoo chakra armor that was able to slightly deflect the bullets if they came too close. Boruto formed six shadow clones, and the six clones leapt over the ridgeline defenses and ran down to meet the soldiers head-on, throwing their now-signature invisible rasengans that blasted their foes like incoming trains.

"Lightning Style: Snake Lightning." From the relative safety of the trench, Mitsuki let loose bright yellow streams of energetic electricity that forked and crackled forward into the fray. Mitsuki's snakelike streams electrocuted and charred the skin of those unlucky enough to come into contact with the electric lines.

Meanwhile, Sarada threw at least ten shuriken high in the air at the same time, and she brought her hands together. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" The multiple shuriken she threw were caught fire instantaneously, and they fell onto the crowd of soldiers like a flaming rain. Seeing her shuriken jutsu, Konohamaru smiled and tapped her shoulder.

"What is it, Konohamaru-sensei?" When she looked towards him, she saw that he had jumped over their trench and joined Boruto's clones in the thick of the fighting. Konohamaru narrowly dodged three bullets that whizzed by his right side, one of which hit one of Boruto's shadow clones in the neck. It was in the middle of gasping in pain when it disappeared into a misty cloud, and its groan of agony died along with it.

Glancing back for a moment, Konohamaru turned his attention back to the soldiers in front of him. He suddenly rolled to the side and threw a single shuriken. "Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The singular shuriken he had thrown multiplied a hundredfold, and the hundred shuriken caused an outburst of both desperate cries for medical assistance and agonized gasps intermixed with one another. Bodies of the dead and the wounded were now beginning to pile up on top of one another, and they were being carelessly trampled on, both by surviving troops still trying to advance up the trail and take the crest of the ridge, and by fresh soldiers who were still coming through the Hod trail from their camp lower down the mountain.

From higher up the pass, Namida observed the carnage unfolding. She cringed whenever Sumire fired her gun and hit another target, or when Boruto blasted some poor Land of Earth soldiers off the mountain pass with an invisible rasengan, but she understood that they believed this to be the best way to protect everyone. However, Namida herself did not want to take anyone's life away, so she instead made it a point of her own personal honor to not kill anyone over the course of this battle. "Sound Style: Modified Sparrows Cry!" She inhaled all the air she could, and then blew a short but powerful burst of rainbow-colored light rays. It passed directly through the narrow gorge-like bottleneck, and it also sent many advancing soldiers tumbling and rolling back down the trail. However, the respite she caused was very brief, and soon more soldiers began to flood up the trail once again.

As Konohamaru was about to step forward again to face the new wave of attack, a bullet whizzed by right in front of his eyes. His eyes grew wide and he stumbled backwards, in shock at how close he had just come to death. He looked at the general direction where the bullet had gone, and he saw a wounded Land of Earth soldier who was grasping his bloody gut. He crumbled down to the snow and began to slide down the snowy slope. It was then that Konohamaru realized that the bullet, which came within a few centimeters from hitting him smack in the temple of his head, had actually come from higher up the Hod Pass. And since there was no commotion about them possibly being flanked from behind, it could only mean one thing: It was Sumire who had fired the bullet.

The sensei of Team 7 turned his head towards the Overwatch Rise, which peaked over the Western Ridge. Since it was more than a hundred meters from where he stood, his eyes barely made out the purple-haired kunoichi laying prone on the snow, with her sniper rifle's magnifying scope reflecting a glaring ray of light from the sun. He saw her raising her right hand from the trigger then gesturing with her outstretched pointy and middle fingers in an up-and-down motion, convincing a relieved Konohamaru that she had aimed at and hit her intended target, not him. He quickly stood up and rejoined the raging skirmish.

What Konohamaru could not have seen, partly due to the distance between him and Sumire, and partly due to the distraction of the bloody battle around him, was Sumire's internal panic. In the seconds after she fired the near-errant shot, she swallowed nervously and let out a sigh of pure relief that she did not accidentally kill Konohamaru-sensei. Both of her hands were trembling, and if it weren't for her recognizing Konohamaru through her scope at the very last second and thus nudging her sniper rifle ever so slightly, Boruto's sensei may very well be dead. In order to help both of them move on and refocus on the ongoing battle, Sumire tried her best to play down the incident by showing some confidence, and her effort to make it seem like she didn't almost accidentally shoot him was ultimately successful.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Team 7 has held their defensive position well," Shikadai observed from the top of the Overwatch Rise alongside Kakashi, Hanabi, and Team 15.

"Indeed," Kakashi remarked, feeling proud of the shinobi and kunoichi that he was in charge of.

It had been over an hour since the attack on Hod Pass began, and the battle had more or less ground to a halt. The littered bodies of the dead soldiers had stacked five high at some points on the trail, and this made the pass difficult to traverse. Another reason why there was a pause in the fighting was because the first waves were composed of inexperienced Land of Earth soldiers, the ones who were force-drafted into the army without any prior training or experience. They were the first to be thrown into battle, as meat fodder into the meat grinder of war, so that the lives of the more experienced shinobi and standing army would not be wasted. Once they saw the welcome carpet of the bodies of their fellow comrades, they were shocked and horrified at the brutality of the scene, and most became hesitant to venture forward. Meanwhile, the members of Team 7 were taking a much-needed rest behind their defensive dugout, although they would often peek above their ridge to check if there was another wave of soldiers coming towards them.

However, a few brave souls made their way further up the pass. Sumire and Kakashi both spotted them slogging through the bottleneck of the bloodied trail, and Sumire noted that they did not carry the weapons that the others did. The two then witnessed the small group of unarmed soldiers stop and gather around a pile of bodies. They rolled dead bodies off to the side, and suddenly two pairs of hands rose and waved to signal that they were alive there. The motions of the unarmed soldiers became more frantic as they removed more bodies from the scene, and eventually they dragged out the two wounded soldiers who were trapped underneath. While some focused on treating their wounds, others searched for more survivors. They dug around even more and pulled out five more alive.

"Lower Hod Defenses," Sumire radioed Team 7, "don't attack those unarmed soldiers. They're just trying to rescue who they can."

Sarada's voice came through a few seconds later. _"Yeah, we see them… Should we help them?"_

"It would be a nice gesture," Sumire replied and turned to Kakashi, who quietly nodded.

Hanabi then lent him her radio, and he ordered, "Team 7, go and help them out. Of course, please be careful, and if you can, ask them for a cessation of hostilities for the day."

_"__Yes Kakashi-sensei, will do."_ They watched as Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Konohamaru slowly and warily approached the Land of Earth soldiers, who soon saw them coming and froze. After a short but tense stare down between the two sides, Sarada proved their innocent intentions by helping heal one of the wounded soldiers, while the three boys dug for more survivors. The two opposing teams gradually came to an understanding and agreed on an informal truce, and so Team 7 assisted their rescue operation.

"Even enemies should show basic respect and human decency to each other," Kakashi smiled.

However, while Shikadai was nodding to Kakashi's statement, loud booms emanated from the distance, and they startled Shikadai and the others. It came from the Land of Earth side, and they realized that it was the familiar sound of an artillery barrage, which the Konoha ninja had all heard during the Battle of Konoha about a month prior.

Sumire warned over her walkie-talkie, "Everyone! Get to safety!" Both the rescuers and Team 7 scrambled to hide near the snowy, rocky mini-gorge while carefully carrying or dragging the wounded soldiers with them. Other soldiers who were still hiding there were initially terrified upon seeing their enemy, and they aimed their guns towards the members of Team 7. But the unarmed soldiers stood in between, assuaged the soldier's fears, informing them that their battle is over for now and that Team 7 is helping their rescue mission. The scared soldiers lowered their weapons, and just in time too, since the artillery shells slammed into the mountainside and exploded. Some of them were startled and reactively pulled back on their triggers, firing bullets into the snow. They then dropped their guns altogether so that it would not happen again.

The bombardment lasted for several minutes, although it seemed to go on forever. Every time a shell would whiz nearby, everyone held their breath, ducked down, and covered their ears, bracing for a possible explosion. Fortunately for those on Hod trail, the tall Western Ridge protected them and absorbed the impacts. This caused some minor rockslides and avalanches on Feres trail. After the shelling ended, the rescuers from the Land of Earth and Team 7 resumed their operation, while the remaining soldiers returned to their base camp and assisted their wounded friends during the descent.

Sarada asked Sumire over the radio, _"Have you heard anything from Teams 5 and 40? I think Feres Pass got the worst of it. Most of the bombs must have landed there."_

"Not yet Sarada," Sumire's replied with a slight hint of worry. "I'll ask about them in a minute. First though, are you all okay there? Anyone hurt?"

_"__We're all okay! Nobody's hurt, but we're just a bit tired from the fighting. How about you over there? Do you still have enough ammunition for your gun?"_

"Don't worry, I still have a lot more ammo, thanks to Denki and his new storage scrolls."

_"__And does Namida still have some of her voice left?"_

Namida laughed and scooted closer to Sumire and the radio. "Did you see the new and improved version of my Sparrows Cry jutsu?"

Sarada shared in the laughter. _"How could I not see it? It was a full rainbow! You blew people back down the pass with it too, and so you clogged the narrow bottleneck even more… Ohh, Boruto here says that 'Sparrows Cry' might as well be renamed, 'Cry of Pride' or something."_

"Hahaha… I'll think about renaming my Sparrows Cry, Boruto. But anyway Sarada, I didn't kill anyone, right?"

_"__It didn't look like it. Why'd you ask?"_ Then Sarada remembered the answer to her own question. _"Right, you don't want to kill anyone yourself."_

"As much as possible, I'd rather not kill anyone by my own hand, mostly because the thought of killing… depriving someone of his or her life… it still just makes me feel really guilty… But on the other hand, it makes me feel weak, or that maybe I'm not contributing as much as everyone else."

"You're not weak," Wasabi reassured her and held her hand. "Everyone has his or her own way of helping out."

Sarada continued over the walkie-talkie, _"So you leave the killing to us? It's fine, you know? It's not a sign of weakness or anything. Everyone here is working together to defend the mountain passes, especially you. Your Sparrows Cry helped us a great deal a while ago! And just my opinion, you actually have the same mentality as Lord Seventh. He never really wanted to kill anyone, and he never did. And nowadays, nobody would dare call Lord Hokage a weak person, correct?"_

"I guess you're right-" Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of gunfire and explosions erupting anew, although when they checked the lower reaches of Hod trail, there was no one fighting.

"That's nearby Feres," Sumire realized and switched the radio frequency to the channel she knew Team 5 was on. "Team 5, this is Sumire! How's the situation going over there? What's happening?"

The only response of the radio was the crackling of static white noise. Deafening silence.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"They're getting through Traverse Couloir!" Denki observed as bullets screamed a few inches over his hair. "We have to push them back!"

"We can't!" Doshu shouted back. "They are too many of them!"

"If some of us could perhaps make a run to the gully and fight there," Udon tried to think of a plan, "maybe we could ease the load for the ones defending these trenches."

Nemuru, the sensei of Team 40, hastily disagreed. "You're talking about a suicide mission!"

While the Denki, Doshu, and the senseis were debating about the best possible plan of action, Metal, Iwabe, Enko, and Tsuru were fighting in the frontline trenches, desperately trying to hold the Land of Earth army at bay.

"It looks like Kakashi-sensei was wrong," Metal huffed to Iwabe as he spun and kicked the gun out of a soldiers hands. He then jumped up and kneed the same man in the face as hard as he could, knocking him out cold and sending him flying out of the defensive trench entirely. "This isn't just some minor skirmish! This is intense!"

"It is much more massive than how he described it to us yesterday," Iwabe responded before smashing his earth hammer down and sending a large ripple forward along the surface of the trail, making some soldiers lose their balance and stumble. This made them easy targets for Enko, who fired her jets of water at them. On the other hand, Tsuru joined Metal in the melee, slashing at their enemies with her twin kunai, then deflecting several bullets coming their way with the same two kunai. She threw one of her kunai towards an enemy, as if it were a throwing knife, and it struck him in the chest. She sprinted towards him, grabbed hold of her kunai, and then finished him off by stabbing his throat before running back to the safety of the trench.

"Everyone!" Denki ran towards them and ducked into their trench. "We have a plan! Udon-sensei, Nemuru-sensei, and Team 40 will remain here and defend the trenches, while Iwabe, Metal, and I will make a run for the couloir. Once we get there, we'll prevent the Land of Earth soldiers from reaching the other pass."

"Sounds good enough," Iwabe and Metal concurred in unison. "If Udon-sensei came up with it, then it's probably a good plan."

"Please stay safe, you three," Enko asked of them, and they nodded.

Denki, Iwabe, and Metal sprinted down the Feres trail towards the Traverse Couloir, dodging bullets and explosives on their way, with Metal taking point and using his taijutsu expertise to knock out anyone getting in their way. Halfway down to their destination however, none of the three members of Team 5 noticed a slight gleam of reflected light coming from a piece of metal that was mostly embedded in the blinding white snow. As Metal rushed full speed ahead, his right foot nicked the previously unseen object and shifted its position in the snow violently. Upon instinct, he looked down to check what he had hit, and he noticed a hard metallic cylinder that was now very dented at its side.

It was an unexploded shell. And within milliseconds of him kicking it with his right foot, it detonated right under him.

The blast sent him flying high, tumbling and somersaulting in the air multiple times, before he finally landed knees first on an unforgiving rocky boulder. He then slid off the rock and onto the snow below, which stained red with his blood in only a few seconds. On the other hand, Denki and Iwabe were blown backwards, albeit with less force since they were farther away from the bomb, and landed on their backs on the soft snow. Soldiers passed by them and assumed they were dead because of their proximity to the blast, and so journeyed on higher.

After a minute to regain their bearings, Denki and Iwabe crawled forward into cover of some outcrops of bare rock to hide from passing soldiers. There, they looked for any sign of their teammate, and Denki quickly spotted Metal lying around 50 meters from where they were hiding. They made a break for it and ran downhill to Metal, jumping over the newly made crater on their way to help their teammate, and avoiding combat with enemy soldiers altogether.

When the two finally got there, Denki gasped in shock and looked away, feeling the sudden and urgent need to vomit. Iwabe, on the other hand, huffed and tried to help in whatever way he could. Metal was unconscious, his eyes half-open, and bleeding out in multiple places. His right leg was mangled gruesomely; its bones were shattered, and its ligaments, muscles, and tendons torn apart. His left leg jutted out sideways on level with his knee, and it was rotated in a way that the knee joint was not meant to. His lower midsection and back were also peppered with holes from tiny pieces of shrapnel, and blood was coming out of his mouth.

"No… Metal…" Denki fell to his knees in disbelief and despair.

Iwabe shook him from his stupor. "He isn't dead yet! We have to get him back to the base!"

Although Denki was still in a daze, he nodded to Iwabe and grabbed Metal's shoulders. "Metal," he asked his fallen teammate, "do you hear me? Stay awake, okay? Stay with us, got it?" He was answered by a pained sigh, confirming to Denki that his dear friend was still alive and fighting. Iwabe hoisted Metal up by the waist, since everything below that was severely injured, and they began to carefully trek back to the Rem Fortress. They stayed behind cover of snow and rock as much as they could, since they would become easy targets if spotted.

Both Iwabe and Denki knew that leaving the Traverse Couloir unchecked would make it harder for their friends on the Hod Pass to fight, and it also could lead to more of their friends getting hurt. They felt guilty about it, but as they continued their ascent up the slope and eventually into the safety of their fortress, the most important thing to them at the moment was keeping their teammate Metal alive.

*******XXXXXXX*******

A worried Sumire kept trying to contact the teams on Feres Pass. "Team 5? Team 40? Can anyone hear me? Please respond!"

"Why aren't they replying to us?" Shikadai asked out loud. "Are they that preoccupied?"

Sarada, who had also switched to the radio channel of Team 5, asked, _"Should we go over there to check? Something might have gone wrong."_

"Don't leave your positions unmanned," Kakashi reminded her and all the other teams. "Team 25, do you read me?"

Houki immediately answered with overflowing enthusiastic fervor in his voice, likely because he was talking to his idol again. _"Yes Kakashi-sensei! We're here at Rem Fortress! What do you want us to do?"_

"Please shift over to Feres Pass. If it's only a radio problem, help them fix it. If they need assistance-"

It was then that all hell broke loose once again on Hod Pass. A furious chorus of war cries and yells burst out of nowhere, and a stream of Land of Earth soldiers rushed from the Traverse Couloir and charged the defensive trenches where Moegi, Chocho, and Inojin were. They were taken by surprise because there was no prior warning from Team 5, Team 40, or even Team 15 on overwatch, that an attack was coming their way. Wasabi had been keeping her eyes focused on Sarada and her teammates, as well as the unarmed soldiers of the Land of Earth, who were still trying their hardest to rescue more wounded survivors. She was making sure that the informal truce on the lower reaches of Hod was still in effect, since she was still nervous about the possibility of Team 7 being double-crossed if they let their guard down. Sumire was also preoccupied, since she and Shikadai had both tried repeatedly to contact Team 5 for the past few minutes, but to no avail.

The fighting in Team 10's defensive line very quickly devolved into hand-to-hand combat. The numbers advantage clearly belonged to the Land of Earth, even with many of the soldiers holding themselves back beyond the defenses. They were merely observing the reactions of the defenders.

"We have to help!" Shikadai, who was followed and flanked by Hanabi and Wasabi, ran down the small hill to join up with his teammates.

"Houki, can you hear me?" Kakashi asked on his radio.

_"__Yes Kakashi-sensei!"_

"Disregard my previous order. Get here as fast as you can and help Team 10 out!"

_"__To the Upper Hod defense line, right Kakashi-sensei? We'll be right there, Sir!"_

Meanwhile, Sumire returned to her prone position and turned her sniper rifle straight towards the Traverse Couloir, while Namida knelt beside her and did some gentle breathing exercises to calm herself and to prepare her lungs for another volley of her sound wave jutsus. Around a third of the length of the snowy gully was visible to Sumire and Namida, and so they took aim at the steady flow of enemies coming upwards from the other side. Sumire fired off several shots in quick succession, hitting in the chest area the foes that Inojin and Moegi were fighting. On the other hand, Wasabi and Hanabi, who had overtaken Shikadai on the way down, confronted the column of soldiers that was making its way down Hod Pass in the hopes of flanking the lower defenses manned by Team 7. Unexpectedly, the men, who looked to each other with uncertainty, stopped their descending flanking attempt, retraced their steps up the Hod trail, and went back through the Traverse Couloir, bypassing the ongoing fighting in the defensive dugouts.

Upon getting close enough, Shikadai spread his shadow paralysis lines radially and captured around ten enemies at once. "Partial Expansion Jutsu!" Seeing her teammate set her up well, Chocho enlarged her arms and swung at the now easy targets, causing them to fly back into the couloir from where they had come from. However, this made her a slower and larger target, and other soldiers outside of Shikadai's shadow paralysis jutsu aimed at her instead. They shot Chocho twice, once through her partially expanded right arm, and once at her ankle, and she fell down in front of a shocked Inojin and Shikadai, the latter of whom unconsciously relaxed his jutsu out of concern for Chocho.

"Chub-" Before he could rush over to help Chocho, Inojin was knocked out by the impact of a pistol butt to the base of his skull. Shikadai's wide eyes saw that the male soldier who struck him, who only moments ago had been paralyzed by Shikadai's jutsu, was now aiming his reserve pistol at Inojin's face. Shikadai then looked back at the soldiers and saw them aiming at him now, and the color on his face drained away. He shut his eyes and braced himself for the eventual bullets ripping through his body.

Instead, what he felt was a rush of air go just past him. Wasabi had rushed full-sprint into the soldiers, saving Inojin's life in the process, and now she captured their attention. Hanabi was fighting the soldiers who were now freed from his dissipated shadow paralysis jutsu, deflecting their lightning-fast metallic projectiles with her fists, which were covered with what looked to Shikadai to be twin blue gauntlets of lion-shaped chakra. Then to his right, he heard Hako, Renga, and Houki screaming into battle, riding atop their giant pink doll Tokenagi into battle as if it was a great warhorse, with their sensei Shizuka keeping pace beside them. Everyone except Hako jumped off Tokenagi, who barreled through the soldiers like a bowling ball would with bowling pins, and they started to fight too. While Hako kept steering her raging bull into the enemy, Houki threw balls of yellow lightning flying towards soldiers. Renga blew and whipped gusts of whirlwinds, and Shizuka fanned them right to the Land of Earth army, knocking them off-balance.

Watching above the chaotic battle, Namida began to pale and ball her fists. Even though she tried to calm down and be more helpful to her friends, she was becoming distraught because of the gruesome fighting and the sheer bloodshed. She felt pangs of nagging guilt growing inside her; she felt guilt that people were getting hurt and killed in front of her eyes, guilt that she should do something about it, and guilt that she wasn't doing anything about it, that she was just letting it happen. As her eyes wandered, she saw smoke coming out of the barrel of Sumire's rifle, Shikadai still trying to paralyze his enemies, Moegi tending to the wounded Chocho, and Hanabi working with Hako and Houki to push the army back down the gully. But shortly afterwards, Hanabi collapsed backwards, her blue lion-shaped chakra fists dissipating. She clutched her shoulder area in pain, and blood came oozing out through between the gaps of the fingers of her hand.

Namida then caught a glimpse of her love, Wasabi, in the midst of the fighting, trying to fight off a man twice her size. She was then struck at her breast by the soldier with the wooden stock of his firearm. Namida saw her girlfriend's face contorting in pain. That was the final straw, as Namida resolved to end the violence then and there. She tapped Sumire's shoulder and told her, "Stop firing."

Sumire glanced at her, confused. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Don't worry Sumire," Namida shook her head and stood up. "Second Fonic Hymn: Force Field." She then clasped her hands together, put her hands to her chest, and sang the second fonic hymn in the old language, the way that it was taught to her by Orochimaru during her time training under him almost a year ago. "Croa Riou Ze Tue Riou Rei Neu Riou Ze."

In the trenches, allies and enemies alike stopped to look at the signing brunette. Some of the enemy soldiers fell in love with her voice and her looks, while others jeered and laughed mockingly. However, the ground beneath them began to glow. Suddenly, a purplish translucent barrier rose from the ground and surrounded the entire area of the Konoha defenses in a shining hemisphere. Men from the Land of Earth shot at the barrier, but it deflected all of their bullets. On the other hand, the bursts of coming from Houki passed through Namida's barrier easily, and so did the gusts of wind from Shizuka and Renga, blowing enemy soldiers out of the hemisphere.

"I've never seen you make a force field before," Sumire said in amazement. "Your fonic hymns are amazing! What is that even?"

"It's a semi-permeable field of natural chakra," Namida elaborated, remembering what Orochimaru had told her. "Nothing from outside can come though the barrier, but anything from within can go out."

"How long can you keep it up?"

"Maybe three to five minutes, if I have the chakra for it?"

The Earth Army forces now stood beyond the purple barrier, which now spanned the defenses and plugged the entrance of the Traverse Couloir. As the minutes of tense inaction ticked by, the soldiers grew impatient and tried one more time to send a volley of bullets through in the hopes of breaking through the barrier, but to no avail. Afterwards, their officer, who had been standing by the entrance of the rocky gully and documenting what he was seeing with what looked to be a video camera, gave the order for his soldiers to return to base. The soldiers dragged their wounded friends down the trail with them, but they left their dead.

As soon as the last Land of Earth soldiers left, Wasabi rushed to her sensei's side. Hanabi was moaning in pain, and her when Wasabi pulled her hand away from her right shoulder to diagnose the damage, she saw that there was a bloody bullet wound in the area where the collarbone joins with the shoulder joint. Recalling the techniques that Sakura and Ino had taught her, she probed around for the bullet and found it lodged in the collarbone. After finding and extracting the bullet, Wasabi quickly healed Hanabi and filled up the cavity that the bullet had made.

Once Hanabi was able to move her right arm around without wincing in pain, the two were led by Moegi and Shikadai to Chocho, who was crying out in agony. Wasabi examined her arm and saw that it was a through-and-through; the bullet had ripped its way through the muscles of the arm. While Wasabi worked on restoring the shape of the tissue in Chocho's arm to its former natural shape, Hanabi checked Chocho's ankle and found that the metal projectile had embedded itself into Chocho's anklebone, sending fragments of bone into the surrounding tissue. "The bullet's lodged in your talus bone," Hanabi told Chocho, "and there are bone fragments in your muscles that I'll need to remove. No need to fret, I'll take care of it quickly. But you'll feel some pain, so you should still brace yourself, okay?"

"I think I'll be fine-AHHHH SHIIIT!"

*******XXXXXXX*******

It was around 7:30 in the evening now, and the clear night sky was made brighter by the waning crescent moon. The moon and stars lit the snowy slopes just enough for Boruto, Mitsuki, Shikadai, Inojin, Houki, Renga, and Doshu, who were carefully making their way down the trails of Tirad. Kakashi had ordered them to clear the Hod and Feres Passes, especially the areas near the defensive positions, of the bodies of the dead enemy soldiers. This was a precaution to prevent any diseases from the rotting bodies from spreading and infecting anyone staying in the Rem Fortress.

When they left Rem Fortress, the emergency surgery that Hanabi and Wasabi were performing on Metal had just entered its seventh hour. The two were trying their best to save Metal's life, as well as his legs. Hanabi told Boruto during a short rest that the bones in Metal's right leg had multiple comminuted fractures; in short, the tibia and fibula of the right leg were both shattered. His left leg was less damaged, although the left knee was still entirely dislocated, and Hanabi was worried that the dislocated joint could have limited blood flow to the lower part of the left leg, which could have caused some tissue cell death there. He also had shrapnel in his lower torso, and those fragments gave him tetanus, which according to Hanabi will complicate the entire treatment process.

Denki and Iwabe were not among the shinobi heading down the trails, as they were waiting for Metal's surgery to finish. They would be staying at their teammate's bedside for the night, since Hanabi and Wasabi had both warned them that Metal may not make it through the surgery itself, not to mention through the rest of the night.

Once the seven shinobi reached the upper defensive line of Hod Pass, where Team 10 would usually be stationed at, Shikadai gathered everyone into a quiet huddle. "Let's gather all the bodies first, okay? Then we all meet up and decide how to dispose of them. Got it?" The others nodded without saying a word, and they dispersed to carry the dead.

After an hour or so, they cleaned up the trails, and they had gathered more than 600 bodies from Hod Pass, mostly on the lower Hod Pass defenses in front of the bottleneck, with the remainder coming from the Traverse Couloir and the back line of trenches of Hod. On the other hand, less than 100 bodies were brought over from Feres.

While sorting out the bodies under the light of the crescent moon, Boruto, Inojin, and Shikadai were also gathering all the firearms and ammunition in a separate pile from the dead bodies.

"We can put all of these in one of Iwabe's spare sheds," Shikadai suggested to the others. "Then hopefully, if ever Sumire and Denki get the free time, they can study these firearms and maybe do a little reverse-engineering. Who knows, maybe these guns can help them make better designs for us in the future."

Inojin agreed with Shikadai. However, Boruto kept looking out in the distance, as if he heard nothing at all. "Boruto?"

Boruto snapped out of his own thoughts when he heard his name. "Oh Shikadai, sorry. I zoned out for a bit, didn't I?"

"Not only that," Shikadai replied. "You seem distracted too. Something is wrong, isn't there?"

"Well… yeah. I was just thinking about the moments when my shadow clones were shot. They happened so fast, you know? Being hit by bullets? And my clones didn't even have time to process what hit them before they dissipated… These guns really are dangerous weapons, and these are dangerous times…"

Shikadai thought about it and was about to reply when Mitsuki, Houki, Renga, and Doshu called them. "We're done getting all the bodies out of the way," Houki informed them. He then asked, "So what do we do now?"

"I think we should bury all the bodies in one mass grave," Boruto said. "What do you guys think? It seems simple enough."

"Except it's not," Shikadai sighed. "It's going to be such a drag. Remember, Iwabe isn't here because he refused to leave Metal's side. If he had gone with us, he could dig up a grave in no time. But without him, it'll be much more time-consuming and labor-intensive to dig a mass grave. It doesn't help that the rock of Mount Tirad is hard gneiss. It'll take us hours to even make a small hole, definitely not one that can fit all of these bodies."

"Instead of burying the bodies," Houki asked, "how about we make a wall of bodies to block the Hod Pass at the bottleneck? It could act as a big morale dampener for the Earth Army when they see their dead friends blocking their way."

"That would make for a flimsy wall," Mitsuki pointed out. "They could push it over easily."

"More than that," Shikadai took over, "it could also just as likely have the opposite effect on the Land of Earth soldiers. It could enrage them, encourage them, and make them fight harder than they would normally, to avenge the deaths of their friends."

"Maybe we can just burn the bodies?" Everyone turned to Inojin and, upon thinking about it, agreed with him. Everyone except for Mitsuki, that is.

"There's not enough oxygen at this altitude to sustain a large fire and completely burn all the bodies."

Doshu thought out loud, "We could also throw the corpses over the edge of the pass. They'll probably slide down to the Land of Earth side of the mountain, and the Land of Earth army could recover them more easily."

The seven Konoha shinobi, after seeing no better alternative, finally settled on Doshu's suggestion. They started to roll the dead bodies down the steep northwest face of Mount Tirad. The corpses rolled and slid down the mountainside, staining the pristine white snow with a gory shade of dark red.

*******XXXXXXX*******

In the Rem Fortress, the group of Sarada, Sumire, Chocho, Wasabi, Namida, Hanabi, Hako, Enko, and Tsuru, was keeping watch over the eight POW's-turned-asylum-seekers from the Land of Earth. Gengania and the other seven girls were going to bed soon after having eaten another delicious dinner, although it was noticeably less impressive than last night's dinner because Iwabe was not present to help cook the meals. Still, they had no complaints at all, since they actually ate three full meals today, They were also content, since they were sleeping on decent beds with pillows and some good makeshift blankets to keep them warm and comfortable.

On the ramparts of the walls, Konohamaru and Moegi manned the guard tower by the Hod Gate, while Nemuru and Shizuka manned the guard tower beside Feres Gate. They were waiting for Boruto, Shikadai, and the others to come back from their mission to clear the passes of dead bodies.

The girls, both the Konoha kunoichi and the POW's from Iwa, were sharing stories and memories about their respective childhoods. It was Hako's turn now, and she began to talk about her cute pink doll, Tokenagi.

"Maybe the reason why he's sentient is because part of my chakra lives inside him too," Hako suggested while hugging Tokenagi tightly.

She captured Sumire's interest quite easily. "Wait, how did that happen? How does he have your chakra?"

Hako recounted her story. "Tokenagi was given to me by my parents as a gift for my fifth birthday. It was a special doll that was made in Takumi, the city of the craftsmen. One day, I brought him to school to show him to my friends. But some bullies had other ideas…"

"Oh no," Namida gasped. "You were bullied when you were younger?"

"If my gothic style didn't make it obvious enough, yes… By the way, I'm joking about the gothic side of me being influenced by the bullying. But yes, I was bullied a lot when I was younger. Anyway, during lunchtime, the bullies stole Tokenagi from me and left the classroom in a hurry, so I ran after them. When I finally caught up to them, they were dangling my Tokenagi over the edge, and they were threatening to drop it three stories down to the ground unless I gave up my entire week's worth of lunch money to them. I kicked the bully in his balls and grabbed my doll back, but before I could escape, he and two friends grabbed hold of me, struck me again and again in the face and gave me two black eyes."

"That's horrible!" Wasabi bit her lip in anger. "They should have been expelled! And you were five years old at that time?"

"I was probably seven at this point. But anyway, that wasn't eve the worst part about it. After they punched me in the eyes, the guy whose balls I smashed hoisted me up and threw me over the guard railing. I fell three floors down."

The entire room was now in shocked silence. "I landed on a wooden table that broke my fall, but I was still badly hurt of course. All I remember from those moments was holding Tokenagi tight. He was absorbing a lot of my blood. Then all of a sudden, he somehow just came alive. He grew in size and carried my to the infirmary, where the doctors were able to take care of my wounds and broken bones. Tokenagi then went back to my classroom, found the bullies, and beat all three of them into bloody pulps in front of my classmates, who funnily enough were cheering him on."

"A bunch of bullies being beaten up by a doll," Sarada quipped with a smile. "I think anyone would find that amusing, if not hilarious."

Enko asked, "Were the bullies expelled?"

Hako laughed loudly. "The guy who threw me over the railing was expelled. The other two were suspended for a maximum amount of time allowed, and afterwards, they never dared to try and show their faces in front of me ever again. I almost got in trouble too because of what Tokenagi did to the bullies, but I was able to prove that Tokenagi acted of his own accord, and that I didn't have anything to do with his decisions."

"Ever since then," Hako continued, "Tokenagi has been my guardian, and one of my best friends too. He would always protect me from physical and emotional harm, in missions or in every day life, and he would always stand up and fight for me even thought I wouldn't stand up for myself. Without Tokenagi, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

"Then we'll have to thank Tokenagi for that," Chocho said as patted the head of the pink doll.

"It's nothing! Anything for Hako! Although…" Tokenagi trailed off, expanded his mouth, and swallowed the entire length of Chocho's arm, latching himself on by her shoulder.

Against al expectations, Chocho did not freak out. "It's pretty warm and comfy in here. He's like a soft silk glove now…"

The collective attention of all the girls was soon captured by the whirring sound of the hydraulic arms activating and pulling the Hod Gate slightly open. "That must be Boruto and the others," Sarada guessed.

True enough, the seven shinobi who had set out to clear the passes returned, with Shikadai holding a storage scroll that held the captured firearms and ammunition they were able to collect on the trail. The boys went their separate ways, with Shikadai, Boruto, and Inojin heading to one of the unused sheds to organize the guns they captured. Doshu and Renga made a beeline for the main quarters to sleep, and so Houki and Mitsuki were the only ones to go towards the group of girls.

Mitsuki waved hello and asked, "Are you girls going to sleep soon? It's getting pretty late, and we'll have a long day again tomorrow."

"In a bit," Sarada responded to her teammate. "How about you two?"

"I just passed by to see how everyone is doing," Houki replied through his dark gray facemask, hi-fiving his teammate Hako in the process. "I'll be checking on Iwabe and Denki now. That reminds me, Wasabi and Hanabi-sensei… How is Metal? Is he going to make it?"

"He's stable now, but…" Wasabi sighed. "We did all we could to save him and his legs, but he'll likely lose his right leg. We might also have to amputate his left leg, depending on how bad the cell necrosis is there."

"If that means he'll live," Namida encouraged her girlfriend, "then we're all happy."

"That's what matters more," Hanabi added.

Houki agreed and stood up. "Good night, everyone. I'll go to the infirmary to see how Denki and Iwabe are doing."

After Houki left, Wasabi yawned rather loudly, as she was exhausted from the fighting in the morning and the seven and a half hour surgery she and Hanabi performed on Metal. "I'm going to bed too. I'd like to have as much rest as I can before tomorrow's fight."

"I'll go with you," Namida smiled and held her hand as the two lovers started walking back to the girl's bedroom. Hako, Chocho, Tsuru, and Enko stood up as well and said their good nights, while the eight asylum-seekers thanked their new kunoichi friends once again before going to sleep. Only Sumire, Sarada, and Hanabi were left in the snowy courtyard.

"Hanabi-sensei," Sumire asked, "aren't you tired from the surgery too? You should get some rest."

"I'll be okay," Hanabi assured her student. "I'm not yet sleepy anyway. And I'm sure that you two aren't going to sleep yet either, since both of you are still here."

Sumire turned to Sarada. "How about you? You're not sleepy either?"

"I can't bring myself to sleep yet," Sarada admitted. "I'm still worried about Metal. Hanabi-sensei, you told us that he could die in the night."

"It's a possibility," Hanabi nodded. "But Metal is strong, and he's fighting with all he's got. Denki and Iwabe are cheering him on right now, and he also has you and everyone rooting for him. He'll give it a great fight, I'm sure of that."

"Still, I can't help but be worried. And because I'm worried, I can't go to sleep just yet."

Sumire reminded her, "You can ask Namida to sing you her First Fonic Hymn. You'll go right to sleep."

"I'll make a mental note about it," Sarada giggled. "When we go back to our bedroom, I'll listen to Namida sing me to sleep with a lullaby."

Hanabi laughed. "You really made it sound like Namida is a mom, and you're her baby."

Sarada nodded. "I mean, my mom sang lullabies to me all the time when I was younger."

"Same here," Hanabi beamed as she relived the memories flooding back in her mind. "She would sing me and my sister Hinata to sleep."

"I remember my mom doing that for me too," Sumire recalled with a melancholic smile. "She would gently rock me to sleep while singing some baby songs that I can't remember anymore. At least I can still remember her voice… and how she looks like…" Out of nowhere, Sumire let out a deep sigh. "Sorry, thinking about my mother makes me a bit anxious and worried."

Sarada put her arm around Sumire to show her best friend that she was there for her. "Why are you worried, Sumi?"

Sumire explained, "Ever since you told me to stop thinking about what Tanuki wanted for me and to start reflecting on what my mom would have wanted for me, I've been thinking more of my mom. I've tried harder to remember what she was like. Not just her voice or her face, but her warmth, her strength, her love… I miss her so much… And I'm worried and scared that I might be disappointing her."

"I'm sure your mother is proud of you," Sarada gently replied. "After all, you're the most motherly out of all our friends. In fact, I'd even say that you're mom-material."

"Wait what? What makes you say that I'm motherly?" Sumire paused to think, and then she asked further, "And why am I, uh, 'mom material'?"

"Because you've always shown us just how much you care for all of us. You'll always be our class rep, you know?"

Hanabi nodded along. "I agree with Sarada. You're really prepared to pull out all the stops for your friends, right?"

"I am," Sumire smiled and looked up at the starry night sky. "To be honest, I don't know how this will all end up. I may still be weak compared to you two, but as long as I can stay true to myself, and live life as fully as I can, I think that maybe, my mom will understand… maybe she'll be proud of the person that I've become."

Sarada raised her eyebrow playfully. "You already seem pretty strong to me, Sumire."

"Really? Why would you think that?"

Sarada smiled and closed her eyes, then echoed what Sumire immediately figured to be some inspiring words that the Lord Seventh Hokage had told his protégé Sarada. "It's the parts you don't think about that are the strongest, you know?"

On one hand, Hanabi chuckled and applauded. "Sarada, you're wise beyond your years."

On the other hand, Sumire sighed. "That doesn't even make sense… But I'm sure that came from Lord Seventh, right?"

"What gave it away?"

"The _'You know?' _part." Sumire replied, which caused all three girls to break out in a short fit of laughter.

Afterwards, Hanabi turned to her student. "Sumire, listen to me. A mother's not ever going to be that hard on her children, no matter how they turn out. Mothers just want their children to be well, and to live a happy life. I'm sure that's what your mom meant for you."

"Hanabi-sensei, you really think so?"

"Sounds right to me," Sarada agreed.

"Sumire," Hanabi patted Sumire's shoulder lightly, "if you ever become a mom yourself, you'll understand."

The purple-haired kunoichi blushed madly, and she tried in vain to hide her reddened cheeks from Sarada and Hanabi. "I can't say I'm planning on it right now… but duly noted… I'll try to remember-"

"Hey girls… Sumire!" Boruto exclaimed worriedly as he passed by the three kunoichi still in the courtyard. "Sumire, what's wrong? Why is your face all so red?"

Sumire was now completely flustered by Boruto's sudden arrival, and her entire face was growing more and more flushed by the second. Steam might as well have been flowing out of her ears at this point. "Is it? It's just… umm… uh… err… it's because… I can explain! I-"

"We're just having a little girl talk amongst ourselves," Sarada saved her best friend from any further embarrassment. "Though you're free to join us if you like, Boruto."

It was now Boruto's turn to feel a rush of red embarrassment creep onto his face. "What? Girl talk? Oh umm, no thanks! Sorry for interrupting!" He left the three girls alone and briskly walked through the doorway of their main building.

Sarada didn't even bother to contain her laughter. "Maybe I shouldn't have teased him so much there…"

_"__I may not be a mother,"_ Sumire thought to herself,_ "but I think I do understand… all kids deserve to have a good life… even me…"_

* * *

**_Sooo how did you guys like Chapter 21? Again, please feel free to leave (non-troll) comments, reviews, likes, kudos, favorites, and follows! I appreciate all the support ^_^_**

_**The battles at Hod Pass and Feres Pass and Traverse Couloir, the teamwork shown by our favorite Konoha ninjas, the violence of the skirmishes, Team 7 working with the Land of Earth rescuers/medics as a sign of respect, Metal's gruesome injury (ughhh), the clearing operation, Hako's childhood story, and the final conversation between Sarada, Sumire, and Hanabi! ^_^**_

**_If you liked what you saw here, then Chapter 22: "Running Out of Time" will be even better! In next Sunday's chapter (IT WILL COME OUT NEXT SUNDAY! I GUARANTEE IT! XD), The Battle of Mount Tirad will become an all-out struggle to survive, and there is a huge chance that not everyone will make it out alive. Meanwhile, Chapter 23: "Impasse" will continue where Chapter 22 will leave off. Time is not on the side of the 25 Konoha ninja guarding the passes of Mount Tirad._**

**_PS: If any of you, my dear readers, are Tales fans, then you'll realize that they conversation between Sarada, Sumire, and Hanabi (as well as Boruto) was inspired by a great cutscene from Tales of Berseria involving Velvet, Eleanor, Medissa, and Laphicet, respectively. Also, I'm making Tokenagi sort of like a compound character from two Tales games: He is half-Tokunaga (Anise's doll) from Tales of the Abyss and half-Teepo (Elize's doll) from Tales of Xillia 1 and 2. Hehee ^_^_**

_**PPS: If any of you have also watched "Letters From Iwo Jima", then you'll recognize the opening scene of this chapter! ;)**_


	22. Running Out Of Time

_**Hello everyone! As I promised last week, A Tale of Grace is back on normal schedule! YAAAAAY! ^_^**_

_**Also, I posted this tonight even though I have a CE 28 long exam tomorrow (topics are on Fourier Series, Fourier Sine and Cosine Series, Fourier Integrals, and Fourier Transforms), because I wanted to keep my promise from last week hehehe ;)**_

_**Fair warning though, this chapter might be the one of the most, if not the most brutal/explicit/gruesome/gory in the entire story. To those who are squeamish, sorry about this, but as I said, I'm not going to sugarcoat the horrors of war and violence. **_

_**Hope you guys enjoy Chapter 22! Feel free to leave comments, reviews, likes, faves, follows, etc! They all help me grow as an author hehee =D**_

* * *

**Chapter 22: Running Out Of Time**

It was an especially cold and foggy day on the slopes of Mount Tirad, seemingly foreshadowing both the coming storm of screams and inevitable hail of bullets for the day. As the light of the slowly rising sun dimly shone through the fog and started to dispel it, Team 40 huddled and crouched behind their lines of trenches and razor-sharp barbed wire, lying in wait for the next assault on Feres Pass.

"It's… cold…" Enko shivered, her frosty breath rising up in the air. Beside her, Doshu also tried to keep warm by rubbing his hands together and blowing warm air onto them. Tsuru kept talking on the radio, relaying messages, orders, information, and updates, from Kakashi and the other teams to her own team, and vice-versa. Meanwhile, their sensei Nemuru kept looking out for any enemy shinobi or scouts that could be scaling the Feres Pass, using his pair of binoculars to try and peer through the thick mist that was very similar to a fog-of-war.

"It would be so much easier if Team 5 remained here to defend the pass with us," Doshu complained. "Even Team 25 isn't here to reinforce us."

"Team 5 is on guard duty back at base," Nemuru replied calmly while remaining glued to the binoculars. "Not to mention that Metal came down with tetanus, and we need Denki to help keep the base up and running now. On the other hand, Team 25 is the designated team of runners, so they'll assist us if anything gets too out of hand. But if things go awry on the other trail, they need to help out there."

Doshu wondered out loud, "Why do we need a team of runners when we have radios now?"

"So the defense can be flexible in resupplying us if we need it," Enko replied, "or to lend assistance when necessary."

"And if the radio signal jammed somehow, or if our radios are broken," Tsuru added, "they will serve as the backup messengers to and from the base and the other teams-"

"Hold on," Nemuru raised his fist. "I think I see some movement…"

The entire group grew silent and crouched down lower in their trenches as they waited in baited breath for their sensei's confirmation. "No… Never mind. I think it was just the mist moving about with the wind."

Enko let out a sigh of relief. "So it's a false alarm?" Her sensei nodded.

"Feres Pass to Rem Fortress, do you copy?" Enko and Doshu looked on as Tsuru operated her radio. "There's nothing over here yet. Over."

_"__Rem Fortress to Feres Pass,"_ Denki's voice crackled from the other side. _"Noted. Just keep on looking out for them."_

Tsuru cycled through the different radio channels. "Feres Pass to Hod Pass Teams, anything on your ends yet?"

_"__None on the Lower Hod Pass yet,"_ Sarada spoke from the other side of the line, _"Lower Hod Foxhole to Feres Pass, over."_

Shikadai followed suit after her._ "Upper Hod Trench Line to Feres Pass, we don't see anyone yet coming from the Traverse Couloir between the two passes, over."_

_"__Do any of you want any food or drinks," _Hako radioed and offered,_ "anything at all? Runners, over."_

"You guys want anything?" Tsuru asked her teammates.

Nemuru and Doshu shook their heads, but Enko spoke up. "If they have warm water or tea over there, I'd like to have some of it. I'm freezing up here."

"You should try to move around too," Tsuru commented before radioing back to Hako, "Feres Pass to Runners. Enko here would love some hot tea or whatever can defrost her… And I'd like one hot cup noodles, preferably the spicy chicken flavored one."

_"__Alright, we'll see what we can do. We'll be there in a bit. Runners, over and out."_

A minute-long pause in the radio chatter followed, only broken by Sumire's concerned voice.

_"__Overwatch to Feres Pass… Hod Pass Defenses…"_ Sumire's voice was for some reason weakly audible, with a lot of white noise suddenly obscuring part of the relay. _"We see… few soldiers… ascending… Pass… I'll try… snipe some… They're co-"_

The last word was cut out midway, and Tsuru tried to raise her again. "Feres Pass to Overwatch, say again?" There was no reply, only the static of the radio. Tsuru tried to contact the other teams as well. "Feres Pass to Lower and Upper Hod Trenches, do you copy? Feres Pass to Rem Fortress, do you hear me? Hello? You there?"

The static noise of the radio did not die out completely, but there was one incomplete message that came through. Exactly who sent it, neither Tsuru or Enko could say, but they knew at the very least that it was a feminine voice, so it could have been either Sumire or Sarada. _"…Get ready… heading your way…"_

Suddenly, a cascade of loud booms was heard in the distance. Startled, the members of Team 40 became unnerved.

"Are we being bombed again?" Doshu asked the others.

"Maybe…" Tsuru trailed off. As she did, they heard a piercing screech in the air above, an eerily familiar sound that they heard before in the end stages of the Battle of Konoha.

"Everyone!" Nemuru ordered his team, "Duck!"

The distinct wail of falling artillery shells was followed quickly by one impacting and bursting right in front of their trench line, sending each member of Team 40 scrambling into the trenches that they and Team 5 had dug together a few days prior. Nemuru and Doshu hid in one section of the trench nearer to the frontline, while Tsuru and Enko hunkered down in a foxhole further back, smack in the middle of the defensive lines. Metal projectiles fell all around them every few seconds, and the relentless bombing seemed to last forever, even though it was only for minutes on end.

After a noticeably much longer pause, Nemuru concluded that the bombardment had stopped. Sporadic booming noises from far away were still being heard, but there were no more explosions at the Feres Pass corresponding to them. The sensei of Team 40 stood up and asked the rest of his team, "Are you all okay?"

Doshu pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off. "I'm fine."

"Is it over?" Enko asked, still hunched behind the foxhole.

Tsuru peeked over the top of the circular trench that she and Enko hid behind. "I think so…"

Nemuru grabbed hold of his binoculars once again and looked further down the mountain pass. "Weird though, the enemy isn't advancing-"

Without warning, a shell suddenly screamed and smashed the ground just meters in front of Tsuru and Enko. It violently burst so close to them, and the shockwave pushed them down back behind the snowy, rocky walls of their foxhole trench. The explosion was so close that it temporarily deafened both girls; the sole thing they heard in those few precious seconds was the constant high-pitched ringing inside their ears.

After the intense ringing in Enko's ears subsided, she shook Tsuru out of her stupor, and the two clambered over their dip towards their other teammate and their sensei. But then they saw that it was blown wide open, and instead of a linear trench, there was now a crater filled with bloodstained rubble and snow, littered with a lot of pink fleshy bits that were obviously body parts.

"No…" Enko stared at the crater. "They're…"

"Shit!" Tsuru gasped and ran back to her trench, getting her radio. "Feres Pass here, we need backup! NOW! SEND HELP!"

More bombs began to rain down on the Feres trail defenses, with one in particular exploding in the very same trench where the two remaining members of Team 40 were staying. Enko screamed in pain and fell backwards in the trench, nearly falling on top of Tsuru who caught her and safely let her down.

"What happened?" Tsuru asked before she saw what had happened. Enko was bleeding from multiple puncture wounds on her thighs, and she gripped Tsuru's hand, gritted her teeth, and groaned curses, all to try and numb the pain she was feeling.

"…Shrapnel." Tsuru observed her wounds more closely. "Don't worry Enko, you'll be okay. Looks like a vein is cut, but just keep pressure on it and it'll close right up."

Tsuru put a lot of pressure on the wounds to stem the bleeding, but Enko squirmed and squealed in agony. Tsuru ordered her, "Press down on this spot here, got it?"

"I'll try," Enko muttered and moaned in a lot of pain. "But fuck… I think you pushed the shrapnel deeper into my leg…"

Tsuru pressed the button on the radio and shouted, "Team 25, where are you? We need you here now!" Static rang out afterwards, with no reply whatsoever coming from the radio. "Team 25? Feres Pass to Runners! Feres Pass to anyone! Please come help!"

Yet there was still no reply. "Enko," Tsuru asked her teammate, "can you move? I think we'll need to get out of here on our own."

Enko tried to move closer to Tsuru, but her legs were simply too wounded and pained for her to move on her own power. "Fuck…" she breathed laboriously, as she instead crawled on her butt and pushed herself along the ground using her hands. "I can't…"

"I'll help you-"

"Enko! Tsuru! Where are you guys? We're here!"

Tsuru was interrupted by Hako's worried voice. The two kunoichi saw Hako, still on the upper part of the pass, riding down the slope on her pink doll, Tokenagi, who had enlarged itself to the size of a panda bear. Behind her, Houki, Renga, and Shizuka-sensei ran to their aid.

Tsuru quickly jumped to her feet and waved at them, revealing their position to the incoming Team 25. "We're over here! Hurry, Enko's hurt!"

As Enko looked on at her teammate waving wildly at their friends, a startling bang cracked through the air from lower down the Feres Pass. Enko's eyes turned to the place where she heard the shot, and saw a bunch of soldiers running up to where they were, all while they screamed their invigorating, self-encouraging war cries. Then she heard another crack coming from the same direction, and immediately afterwards she felt something splattering on her face and hitting her eyes, blinding her.

"Gahhh dammit… what the hell is this?" Enko tried to wipe her eyes. Her face now smelled weird; it was not exactly the smell of blood, but it did hint strongly towards blood being interspersed with something else. As she began to wipe her eyes clean of the wet and squishy substance that had splashed all over her face, she felt a sudden weight fall onto her. She opened her eyes and tried to push the weight off of her, only to see Tsuru's dead eyes staring into her own before slowly falling out from their sockets. Blood and a large portion of Tsuru's brain then spilled onto Enko's chest. The back of her skull had a circular hole, while her forehead had been blown outwards and was now peeling off onto Enko, and the top flap of her skull was gone too. Her face was nearly unidentifiable, and if it weren't for her clothes, Enko would never have guessed that this was actually her friend and teammate. "TSURU NO! NOOOOOOO! FUCK!"

Enko tried to squirm under Tsuru to get away, but her legs were almost locked in place due to the pain she felt. She was now pinned to the ground and under Tsuru's leaking corpse. "HAKO! HAKO! PLEASE!" She pleaded, "HELP ME! PLEASE!"

The next few seconds passed by in slow motion for Enko, and it seemed to her that each second lasted for an entire minute. Then, she saw Hako arriving and hopping off Tokenagi. Behind her, her teammates and sensei all ran past her towards the frontlines to meet the enemy advance and halt it. "Hako," Enko heard them order, "help Enko! Bring her back to the fort. We'll hold these guys off!"

Hako nodded and rolled Tsuru's dead body off of Enko, and so what remained of Tsuru's brain then fell out onto the stained snow. Hako then pulled Enko closer to Tokenagi, who gently grabbed hold of her and lifted her onto its shoulders. Hako then mounted her expanded pink doll, wrapping her arms around its neck and strapping Enko in with her own body, as if she were a human seat belt, to ensure that Enko would not fall off. "Tokenagi, let's go back to base now. Quickly!"

"Okay!" The doll obeyed and quickly sprinted up the pass, but more shots rang out after them. Most of the bullets landed in the soft snow and hard rock of the Feres Pass, but one bullet hit Tokenagi in the foot and came out through the other side. The pink doll let out an intense shout and momentarily lost its balance, but it still kept going up the Feres trail.

"Don't worry Tokenagi, we'll fix you up once we get back-" Then, another bullet came and struck Hako in the right shoulder, lodging into her shoulder blade. "Shit! Ugh…" She grimaced and grunted in obvious pain, but she kept on holding onto both Enko and her enlarged doll.

Concerned about Hako's condition, Enko asked her while gritting her own teeth in pain, "Are you alright?"

"I will… I'll be okay… At least you didn't get hit just now…" Hako trailed off as Tokenagi rounded the bend and disappeared out of sight from the guns targeting the two kunoichi. To lessen the pain in her right shoulder, Hako adjusted her position and gripped more onto her doll's neck with her left elbow, as if she was choking it from behind, to keep both herself and Enko from falling off. The walls of the fortress were in sight now from where they were, and the Feres Gate began to open inwards as Udon and Denki saw them too.

"Tsuru… I'm so sorry…"

"Hanabi-sensei will treat us… once we're back at base," Hako tried to uplift her friend's spirits. "We'll be okay…"

_"__Upper Hod Pass, this is Sarada! We're being attacked right now! Sumire, can you hear me? Please support us from up there! We need it!"_

"You got it," Sumire replied and handed the radio over to Namida. She looked into her magnifying scope and fired off a shot that ripped through the air, passed barely a meter over Sarada's black hair, and struck down an Earth Army soldier in the throat. She gripped the bolt handle on her sniper, pulled it back and to the side, then pushed it back into its firing position before she shot again. This time, her bullet sailed right of her target's head, and instead hit another soldier in the shoulder behind him. She cocked her long-range weapon once more and fired, now hitting her previously intended target in the torso and spilling his blood onto the snow in front of Boruto's trench line.

As Sumire continued to rain down metal fire upon the enemy assault, the radio now held by Namida crackled to life once again. _"Overwatch, this is Shikadai! Inojin and Chocho were hit by shrapnel, and Chocho's in a very bad way! And… oh fuck! The Earth Army is coming straight for us through Traverse Couloir! Send help now!"_

"Shit!" Wasabi exclaimed. "Let's go help them!"

"I'm going down there to help Team 10," Hanabi told her team. "Wasabi, come with me! Sumire, Namida, cover us!"

"Wait," Sumire held her back. "Look!"

While more of the Earth soldiers streaming through the natural gully formation that was the Traverse Couloir ran towards Team 10 to meet them in battle, about a third of them were heading down the Hod Pass and approaching the frontline foxhole lower down, where Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Konohamaru were fighting off the shinobi coming up the trail.

Namida spoke into the radio. "Shikadai, you're being attacked from the front, but some of the soldiers are moving down the Hod Pass straight for the front line trench! They're trying to flank Team 7 again!"

_"__Dammit all to hell!"_ Shikadai cursed and caused static on the radio for a few seconds, trying to come up with a plan. _"They're going to be surrounded! Sumire, Namida, Wasabi, all three of you go and help Team 7 out! Hanabi-sensei will be enough help for us to handle this!"_

Wasabi asked in protest, "Doesn't that go against Kakashi-sensei's battle plan? Cross-fire killing field and all?"

_"__We have to be flexible with our plans! Otherwise Boruto and the others could be captured or die! Don't worry about it; I'll be the one to explain everything to Kakashi-sensei. Just go!"_

Hanabi grabbed the radio. "We'll be there soon! Over and out!" She then turned to her three students. "You three help Boruto and his team out, okay? Go!"

"Right away!" Sumire agreed, leaving her sniper rifle on that mound of snow on its bipod. She grabbed her go-bag, which contained more ammunition for her G18c auto-pistol, and slung it over her shoulder. The four members of Team 15 split up, with Hanabi heading to Team 10, and Sumire, Wasabi, and Namida running down the snow-laden path towards Team 7. Chasing down the Earth soldiers who were about to crash into Team 7 from behind, Wasabi roared at them and attracted their attention instead.

"From behind! Fire!" The soldiers turned around and sent a hail of gunfire and rock jutsus at them. Sumire returned fire with her water bullets, while Wasabi ran in zigzags to disorient them. At the same time, Namida lobbed the experimental non-lethal flashbang explosives that Denki had supplied her with, in her effort not to kill any more people. They blew up simultaneously, making a noise even louder than firing bullets, and the accompanying blinding flashes of light dizzied the enemy shinobi enough that they retreated in panic.

As the assault paused and the attackers retreated back to the gully they came from, Sumire ducked behind the snowy outcrop beside Sarada. Her white frozen breath was visible in the chilly air. "We made it in time…"

"We really owe you one, Sumire," Boruto exhaled as he took a breather. "We might not have lasted much longer."

Sarada put her hands on the shoulders of Sumire and Wasabi in a sign of gratitude. "Yeah, we were about to get flanked, right? Thanks!"

Wasabi nodded. "Shikadai saw it coming, and he asked us to cover for you guys. They couldn't do it because they were pinned down by the barrage, and it sounds like Chocho got hit bad."

_"__Hod Pass, come in…"_ Shikadai's voice came through, but the transmission was full of static, as if something was interfering and distorting the signals it was receiving. _"We're heading… Rem… Help… Chocho back… I'll tell Kaka… the changes we made…"_

"I want to help Chocho," Sarada spoke nervously. "I'm really worried about her right now…"

"Same," Sumire shuddered. "I hope she's okay, but they really made it sound like it is an emergency."

Boruto added, "You're right, it didn't sound good."

"I want to see how she is right now as well," Mitsuki agreed.

"Guys!" Inojin rushed down the path, grasping his upper right arm, which was bleeding from three or four gashes. "We need help with Chocho!"

"We pieced that together from your radio call," Konohamaru replied.

"You heard us?"

"Yes, but only segments."

"Yeah, I went here because it sounds like some of the soldiers were carrying some kind of radio proximity jammers. That's why our radios have been very choppy."

"Are you okay?" Boruto asked Inojin. "Your arm-"

"They're only flesh wounds," Inojin tried to allay their fears, but his face showed that he was in more pain than he tried to let on. "Don't mind it. I'm more worried about Chocho; she's badly wounded… She has some metal shrapnel stuck lodged in her chest, and there's internal bleeding from the veins and arteries cut open, so I'm sure that she'll have to be operated on… Shikadai, Moegi-sensei, and Hanabi-sensei are all trying to carry her back to Rem Fortress. Hanabi will operate on her there."

"I'll help out too," Konohamaru insisted. "I'm sure Hanabi will be focused on stopping her bleeding."

"Same," Sarada went along. "I'll go back to Rem and stay by her side while Hanabi-sensei operates on her."

"Shikadai is also asking if either Team 7 or 15 could take their place at the back trench until they return, but he's okay with Sarada or Sumire going back to Rem with Chocho. I'll stay and fight with you guys too, my wounds aren't that bad."

"I want to check on Chocho's condition too," Boruto noted, "and also make sure that you'll be okay too."

"That's unusually sweet of you," Inojin suspiciously looked at Boruto. "Did Hima-chan put you up to this?"

"…Not saying anything…"

Sumire looked at Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki. They all wanted to see how Chocho was doing. While she too wanted to check on her chubby friend, she also knew that one team had to keep the defense. "If you guys want," Sumire offered, "we'll hold this line for you for a while. Then when you're done accompanying Chocho, you can come back to relieve us."

"That would be great," Sarada replied. "Thank you!"

"Wait!" Namida objected. "I'm not comfortable being in the frontlines. I was thinking we're better suited for long-range battles, not close combat… and I still can't bring myself to kill anyone… Sorry…"

"But Sumire and Wasabi are excellent close-range fighters," Boruto tried to assure her. "And you can provide them with support."

"It's not like we'll be gone for long either," Sarada reassured her. "We'll be back in maybe 30 minutes. I don't think you will get attacked just like we did a few minutes ago, unless they somehow reorganize that fast. However way you look at it, another major attack so soon is unlikely."

Not wanting to disappoint Boruto and Sarada, Sumire nodded and agreed. "Rest assured, we can handle this. We'll hold the line for you until you come back. Once you guys return, we'll return to our station at the rise."

"Wait, Sumire! I-"

"We'll be okay," Sumire stopped Namida with a pat on the shoulder. "Besides, Sarada really wants to be with Chocho right now. And if we can't all be there by her side, at least she'll be there too look after her."

"Okay… fine…" Namida tensely resigned herself to her fate.

Sumire then turned to Sarada. "Send Chocho our best wishes… I really hope she'll be all right."

"Thanks," Sarada replied. "I hope she will be too…" With that, Team 7, along with their Konohamaru-sensei and Inojin, left Team 15 to hold down the frontline trench.

However, about fifteen minutes after the five Konoha ninja trekked up the Hod Pass to the Rem Fortress beyond the trail's bend, Wasabi spotted a group of twenty-or-so Earth shinobi and their allied foreign Merikhan volunteer soldiers sprinting through the bottleneck gorge before them. She saw that they were heavily armed and bearing down on their ridgeline's crest to secure the lower defenses of the Hod Pass. One of the Merikhan volunteers waved a blue flag adorned with yellow stars in the upper middle. He pointed the dark wooden flagstaff directly at the frontline trench where the three kunoichi of Team 15 were, and with a loud voice, he exhorted to his fellow men, "Through the perilous fight!"

His fellow Merikhan soldiers all knelt down on one knee, while the Earth shinobi kept marching up the slope. The Merikhan soldiers, who were obviously more adept at using their own firearms than the conscripted Land of Earth soldiers were, aimed their rifles at Wasabi and Namida, who were looking on at them from the trench. "Fire at will!"

"Shit!" Wasabi cursed as she saw the enemy at the base of the ridge. The loud rat-tat-tat sounds of a volley followed, and the whispering trails of the bullets flew by around them, and so she quickly pulled Namida down to safety behind the snowy rise and into the foxhole. "We're going to get swamped unless we retreat! We have to go!"

"Retreating isn't an option," Sumire retorted. "This is the most defensible position we have! The backline where Boruto and Inojin are now isn't going to last long under assaults from two sides."

"Both of you…" Namida spoke with conviction and determination, "I got this. Cover me, okay?"

"Wait," Wasabi asked her, "I thought you didn't want to kill anyone? What are you going to do?"

Namida responded by closing her eyes, deeply inhaling and concentrating. "First Fonic Hymn: Fever Dream."

Without any warning, Namida stood up, exposing herself to the Land of Earth army, and thrust her hand forward towards the charge. Taken by surprise by her quick action, Sumire covered for her by spraying the enemy soldiers with her auto-pistol, while Wasabi ran a risky distraction by leaping from the dugout and running across the ridge, baiting shots away from Namida and instead towards her.

Then, Namida's songbird-like voice rang out, as she sang out, "Tue Rei Ze Croa Riou Tue Ze."

Within seconds, the rushing soldiers all stumbled and fell down unconscious to the snow, having fallen victim to sleep from Namida's hymn.

"The First Fonic Hymn…" Wasabi mentioned proudly to Sumire. "Imagine, Namida can literally attack and affect others, positively or negatively, by singing now-"

Namida groaned as she slipped forward over the ridgeline and out of their safe position. She was now on the snowy, exposed face of the slope.

"Shit! Namida! Are you okay?"

"I've never done this to that many people," Namida replied weakly.

"What happened?" Sumire asked Wasabi.

"Ohh right, the First Fonic Hymn was made for only 3 to 5 people at a time. She must have overexerted herself by using it on those twenty-something soldiers."

Slowly, Namida got back to her feet, but she stumbled due to her overexertion and dizziness. "Don't worry Namida," Wasabi stood up, prepared to carry her girlfriend back to safety. "I'll be right there-"

Before she finish, a distinct, whip-cracking-like sound burst into the air. Sumire recognized the sound; it was similar to the sound that her own sniper rifle makes when fired. She started looking for the source of the gunshot, but she is immediately stopped by Wasabi's screams.

"NO! NAMIDA!"

Blood splattered out of both ends of the circular hole through Namida's chest, and also out of her mouth. She collapsed forwards onto the snow, the deep red puddle staining the white snow growing ever larger. Without another word, Wasabi leapt over the defenses and rushed to reach Namida, who was slowly sliding down the snowy slope.

"Wasabi!" Sumire shouted after her. "Be careful!"

More cracks of fired shots sounded from the soldiers near the stony bottleneck, and Wasabi felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle when metal projectiles flew by her. The sounds of the gunshots made Wasabi cringe ever so slightly, as they seemed to slice through the air itself.

She reached Namida and knelt by her side, trying to pull her up. "Namida! Come on!"

"Just… save yourself…" Namida begged her. "Leave me here… Take Sumire… and run…"

"I won't do that!" Wasabi adamantly demanded. "I'll take you with us!"

She pulled Namida's arm over her shoulder, lifted her back to her feet, and very slowly made her way back to a frantically waving Sumire at their perch of safety. "Hurry up! There are more enemies coming!"

Behind them, Wasabi heard a lot of shouts, and when she glanced back, she saw a huge surge of fifty more soldiers. They looked hell-bent on charging onwards and upwards to take the ridge. "Through The Perilous Fight," she heard them shout repeatedly to one another, as if it were a mantra to strengthen their spirits.

"Leave me… here…"

Wasabi looked Namida straight in the eye as she took another step forward. "I will NOT leave you behind!" Wasabi exclaimed angrily. "If I need to, I'll stay here and fight! I'll only go if I take you with me!"

While Wasabi kept pushing on with Namida in tow, Sumire tried her best to help and keep the soldiers busy by laying down cover fire for her two teammates, but more often than not she was forced to keep her head below the snowy trench, since bullets flew just overhead, so close to her that she heard them whistling in their wake as they passed by.

As Sumire was pinned down, one Land of Earth soldier took aim at Wasabi, who was now an easy target because she was serving as Namida's human crutch, with his rifle. He fired two shots, both of which struck Wasabi, and she shrieked in agony. The first bullet hit her in the back and lodged somewhere to the right of her spine, while the second struck her right arm and shattered upon impacting the thick bone. The metallic and bony fragments exploded in all directions and shredded everything in their paths, and thus severed her right arm completely halfway between her elbow and shoulder. "Fuck!" Wasabi fell to her knees and pulled Namida down as well. She saw out the corner of her eye the same soldier aiming at their heads for the killing shot, and gripped Namida's hand tightly, preparing for the end.

But Sumire saved them just in time. "Water Style: Water Spirit Wave!" She quickly fired off water bullets their way, killing the Earth soldier together with seven of his allies. The rest of the soldiers scampered back down and hid beneath a dip in the snow, where Sumire could not see them.

"Wasabi! Namida! Get back here now!"

"Arrgghhhh…" Wasabi grunted, groaned, and struggled mightily to get back to her feet, pulling Namida along with her while leaving her right arm where it fell. Her agonizing whines and gasps were all painful for Sumire to hear, so she summoned mini-Nue to help.

"Nue! Please, help them get back here now!" It nodded and obeyed, jumping over the rocky ridge to help Sumire's two teammates with whom it was close to as well.

However, another soldier rose from the dip in which they were taking shelter, and lobbed a fragmentation grenade towards the two wounded kunoichi. Wasabi saw it coming and stopped, dropping Namida down to the snow, and shielding her with her own body. It exploded, and while most of the shrapnel was absorbed by the snow and rock around them, some of it sliced clean through Wasabi's other arm, even through the bone, and left it dangling by a muscle. The blast itself also knocked Nue back and dazed it severely, though thankfully no fragments struck the summoning creature.

Still, Wasabi roared as loud as she could, gritted her now bloody teeth, and lifted Namida up once more, dragging her up the slope to the perch. However, just several meters away from Sumire and safety, Wasabi's knees buckled and gave out on her, and she suddenly collapsed to her knees, unable to get up anymore. She panted and became dizzy, the adrenaline rush wearing off, and the unimaginable pain taking over her. Namida fell and rolled onto her back next to her, both girls soaked in each other's blood. The jerky way Wasabi fell on her knees stretched, stressed, and then fully tore the muscle still holding it together, and soon afterwards, the remaining skin clinging to her left arm necked and ripped apart. Namida screamed in guilt and squirmed in physical and emotional pain as she saw Wasabi's left arm slowly separate and then fall to the bloodied snow.

The soldiers remained in hiding behind their protective dip, and they called their allies further down the mountain. Another artillery bombardment began, shelling the entire area, including the forward foxhole and the also-weakened back line where Inojin and Boruto were supposed to be. _"We're now pinned down here," _Sumire thought to herself. _"Boruto and the others are surely pinned down too, so there won't be any help coming for us…"_

The artillery shells began to blow up on the trail near Namida and Wasabi, and some of the explosions sent stinging-cold snow into their faces and into their wounds. Still struggling on, Wasabi looked desperately to Namida. "I will not let you die!"

Wasabi bit down hard on Namida's bloody clothing and tried to drag her up to and over the rocky perch where Sumire was. But Namida pushed her away. "JUST STOP!"

Wasabi released Namida's clothes from her clenched teeth. Namida continued, "I want you… to live… Wasabi. You have to live…" Namida emphasized what she wanted for her love, "for me…" Namida sat upright, in the process smearing more of their blood along the white snow with her foot. "Be free… Wasabi…"

The blasts were landing closer and closer to them now, and Namida knew that if they did not move, they would be dead within the next thirty seconds, if not even before that. _"Not much time left,"_ she thought to herself and shed tears. Seeing Namida cry and seemingly give up, Wasabi let the tears stream down her face as well, finally realizing and accepting that this was the end for the two of them.

Sumire, unable to accept the situation, attempted a rescue herself, but Namida waved her off. "Sumire… Stay there… where it's safe… Save yourself and Nue first, if you can… Take care of Wasabi too…"

Wasabi was close to the brink of unconsciousness, and she began to faint, falling backwards away from Namida. Using what strength she had left, Namida leaned as far forward as she could, grabbing her by her olive green jacket. "From the bottom… of my heart…" Namida whispered just loud enough so that Wasabi could hear her, "I love you Wasabi… my forever…"

With the last of her strength and will, Namida shifted her weight backwards and threw Wasabi into the air. Once Wasabi was slightly behind her head and on the way down, Namida exhaled a weak sonic cry and boosted her just over the ridgeline. The weak sonic voice had one word meant for her Wasabi. "LIVE!"

Wasabi clipped the edge of the snowy ridge and tumbled head over heels, landing right next to Sumire, who in the meantime had retrieved Nue. "Wasabi!" she exclaimed and looked over the ridge, even though the bombardment was ongoing. She saw that Namida, having expended the last of her energy, was lying flat on her back, her eyes wide open and her breathing heavy.

"Don't worry Namida," she assured her, "I'll get you now."

"Sumire… no need-"

A screamer of an artillery shell fell from the sky and looked to be heading straight to their trench. Sumire instinctively ducked and covered Wasabi and Nue. Fortunately for them, it landed in front of their trench, and with its explosive impact whipped up a lot of dirt and snow, which gently landed on the three inside. Sumire couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, but then a horrible thought came to mind. "No… Namida!"

Sumire rushed back to peek over the ridge. Her eyes flew wide open as she saw a headless figure that wore Namida's clothes, laying where Namida had been a few short moments ago, and a new small crater filled with blood, bits of bone, and a pink goo that Sumire knew to be brain matter, where the head should be.

"Namida… no… NO!" Sumire felt something snap inside her.

The bombing had since moved on to focus more on the higher reaches of the Hod trail, around the area where Boruto and the others should have been, to soften up the defenses there for the inevitable attack. Out of nowhere, a shot whistled mere centimeters to the right of Sumire's face. Flinching for a moment, she then noticed that the Earth Army was now clambering up to the crest of the ridge. In rage, she unleashed a hailstorm of metal and water using both her G18c automatic pistol and her quick-succession water bullets on them, with no care to the bullets whizzing past her, only stopping her barrage to reload her gun. She mercilessly killed more than thirty Iwa shinobi soldiers, and the rest quickly crawled back down beneath the dip of the slope, where she again could not hit them.

After she exhausted five clips of ammunition and a fair bit of chakra, Sumire ordered Nue, "Keep them back there for as long as you can." Nue purred, grew into the size of a liger, and leapt to assault the Earth Army below. Meanwhile, Sumire checked on Wasabi's condition. She was still alive, struggling to breathe and stay conscious. The stumps where her arms detached were now hoses of blood that painted the snow deep red.

"Where's… Namida?" she asked, inadvertently spitting some specks of dark crimson blood at Sumire's face.

"She's…" Sumire hesitated, before lying, "she's still there… I'm getting her right now." Sumire was sure that her disheartened eyes gave the truth away to Wasabi, but she lied nonetheless.

"Please… thank you…" Wasabi trailed off as she groaned in pain. "Namida… my love… Don't leave me…"

As Sumire moved away from Wasabi, a voice called out to her from within herself, a voice that she knew but could not pinpoint exactly_. "Sumire, do you hear me? Stand up and do everything I tell you to."_

Sumire was as confused as anyone ever was. "What? Who is this?"

_"__Just trust me! Follow what I say to the letter. I can't have myself dying because of some stupid mistake that you're bound to commit."_

"…Fine." Sumire, seeing no other choice, nodded in response to the eerily familiar voice in her head. "What should I do?"

_"__Alright! Stand up. Stretch out your left hand straight in front of you, and make a Seal of Reconciliation with your right hand." _

Sumire followed the instructions, even though it exposed her to possible enemy fire. "Now what?"

_"__Focus all of your chakra to your two hands. I'll be the one to direct what type of chakra, normal or dark, goes where, so leave that to me."_

"What exactly do you mean?"

_"__Can your questions come later?" _The voice snapped back with obvious annoyance in her voice._ "I'll explain everything after I'm done fixing this damned mess of a situation you're in now."_

Sumire focused her chakra to her palms and fingers, and soon she felt a familiar chakra inside herself. She knew she was now surging with negative chakra, the telltale signs of which she recognized from her time draining people's chakra with Nue years ago. The dark purple negative chakra was being segregated from her normal chakra, just as the voice inside her had said, and it flowed to her outstretched left hand, which now started to emit an ominous dark violet aura. Meanwhile, her normal chakra coalesced in her right hand, and it began to glow bright yellow.

"Nue… Nue…" Sumire's summon began to retreat back to safety in its smallest form. War cries echoed from where Nue came, and upon looking further down the mountain, Sumire figured out why. A huge wave of Earth Nation shinobi, which Sumire estimated to be around 300-400 strong, was now waging a large-scale assault on the frontline trenches.

Sumire asked the voice in her head, "You see that? What are we going to do against that?"

_"__Relax Kakei,"_ the voice replied coolly. _"Almost done fixing this up… I'll show you what we'll do to them."_

"Kakei? Wait… Wait a minute-"

Sumire's thoughts were interrupted, as without any warning, two spheres of light erupted from her right hand. The yellow-tinged sphere of light expanded to about 3 meters in radius and completely surrounded Sumire and Wasabi, while the larger dark and purplish sphere extended outwards much farther beyond, about 30 or so meters in radius by itself.

_"__Now listen to me very closely," _the deeper but still feminine voice told Sumire. _"Very slowly rotate your right hand while keeping the seal intact. And counterclockwise, got it?"_

"Okay…" Sumire complied and gently torqued her right hand counterclockwise. As she did so, she noticed something peculiar happening. It felt as if everything around her began to slow down, at least within the dark purple sphere. Initially, she chalked it up to a massive adrenaline rush she must have had upon seeing the charging enemy soldiers rushing her position, but she then saw Nue slowing down drastically whilst running towards her and jumping over the ridge into the safety of the trench, looking as if it was hanging in midair with slow-motion, before finally reaching the boundary of the yellow sphere and retuning to normal speed. Time indeed seemed to move ever slower.

Behind Nue, soldiers from the Earth Army finally got a good enough vantage point from where they could see Sumire, and they raised their rifles in slow-motion to aim at her before firing.

The voice warned Sumire in a slightly worried voice,_ "Don't let those bullets reach your field of fonons! They could still hit you if-"_

"MY WHAT?"

_"__THE YELLOW SPHERE DAMMIT! Where matter and time are still acting normally due to all the fonons interacting with each other and stabilizing the reaction! It's pushing the jutsu outwards away from us! The field of fonons is the only thing keeping this jutsu from collapsing in on itself and crushing you, and me along with you! So just try your best not to let those bullets reach your yellow sphere! Still, keep rotating your hand gently."_

Nodding, Sumire kept turning her hand. The metal projectiles swam through the purple sphere of light and approached Sumire at a slowing pace. One of the bullets made it through into Sumire's yellow field of fonons, though it missed by a few millimeters. It buzzed by her to the right of her neck and flicked strands of her purple hair upwards. Most of the other bullets were from too far away and were not major or immediate threats yet. However, Sumire saw one bullet very close by, less a meter from reaching the yellow boundary, and it seemed hell-bent on going straight into and through her head. She felt a pang of worry as it inched towards her, and so she slightly quickened the turning of her hand, gritting her teeth and straining her chakra. Just as her pointy and middle fingers pointed straight to her left, the metal projectile miraculously stopped about a centimeter or two before the yellow boundary.

Sumire stared dumbfounded and relieved at the bullet that had stopped in midair, as if what she was seeing was merely a picture that did not move, or perhaps it was more like a paused video game. Then she noticed that not just the bullet, but also everything within the purple sphere around her, had been stopped in their tracks completely. The soldiers were leaning forward but frozen in place, the bullets stopped in their attempts to cut through air and flesh, and the snowflakes hung motionless in the air, unable to make their way down to the ground.

Calling the attention of the stunned Sumire, the mysterious voice ordered, _"Keep. Rotating. Very. Slowly."_ Sumire complied, and the moment her pointy and middle fingers started to point down, she saw with her own two eyes that everything beyond her yellow sphere began to move backwards, in the reverse direction of what every logical, natural, and physical law would normally dictate. Slowly but surely, Earth soldiers seemed to perform a weird form of backpedaling, bullets flew back into their respective guns, and the snow climbed upwards to the clouds from where it came. Artillery shells coalesced and reformed, launching backwards into the sky and seeming to clean up after themselves; the craters they made all but disappeared as they were filled up by the very snow and rock they had earlier displaced.

"What is happening?" Sumire tried to comprehend what was going on all around her. "Turning back time? How are you doing this?"

_"__I'll try to explain later," _the voice replied. _"For now, just focus on the task at hand. Understood?"_

Behind Sumire, Wasabi suddenly felt a rush of life within her. She opened her eyes wide, and saw that her arms, which had been severed off on the slope beyond the ridge, somehow came flying back to her. They crash-landed into the snowy trench she laid in, and then wiggled closer to her until they came into contact with the bloody stumps. Her arms gradually reattached themselves, while the fragmented metal bullets that had lodged inside her reunited and flew out from her in one piece, and the shattered bones repaired themselves whole once again. Even the bullet that had pierced her in the back was no longer there, having somehow propelled itself out below her, and neither was the cavity that it had left. She no longer struggled to keep awake, and she no longer felt any pain or shock. Instead, Wasabi was able to angle her neck and look at what Sumire was up to. "Sumire… what are you doing?"

"Don't worry," Sumire tried to reassure her, but even she couldn't fully assure herself of what she was doing. She then lied to Wasabi, saying, "I have this under control."

At that moment, Sumire remembered something that could be the explanation to this jutsu. Taking her opportunity to learn more while the battle was more or less paused by her newfound jutsu, she responded to the voice within her with her hypothesis. "While I was still working as an intern in the science department with Katasuke, I had read a published paper with an interesting theory, that antimatter was basically the same as matter but going in the reverse direction of time relative to normal matter. If this is true, then time can be manipulated even somewhat. Depending on how much antimatter there is in a given volume of space, it can warp the fabric of spacetime itself and reverse the flow of time."

_"__What are you talking about? Where did this come from? And what is your point?" _

"Is that what you're doing inside me? Producing antimatter in a high-enough amount or density, and thereby warping spacetime to reverse time?"

_"__I… know nothing about whatever antimatter is… The only thing I know about time reversal is how to perform this time manipulation jutsu, using the negative chakra that we have through Nue. Nothing more, nothing less."_

"So even you don't really know what you're doing, or how you're doing this?" Sumire sighed before sarcastically continuing, "Well, that's certainly reassuring."

_"__Even I don't know the science or the specifics," _the voice admitted._ "Just know that anything within your field of fonons, the inner yellow sphere, is not affected by this time manipulation jutsu. _

"Fonons… you mean the seven fonons? And the atomic particles and bonds that make them up? Water, Fire, Lightning, Sound, and the others?"

_"__Yes._ _The fonons coming from you, and by extension Nue, are all densely packed within this yellow field sphere, so they stabilize and counteract the inward crush of the time-manipulation jutsu, and in this case, to nullify the time-reversing effects for the user and whoever else is inside."_

Sumire felt that she should end the conversation here for now, and focus on the time manipulation jutsu, but a strong nagging feeling made her press on with the questioning, at least with a different topic. "You're Sumire Shigaraki, correct? You're me, or rather, you're who I used to be."

_"__I will not answer that. I don't have anything to say about that to someone who had run away from her purpose in life. I merely want you to stay alive, so I too can live on… and who knows, maybe eventually take control over you once again?"_

"Not happening," Sumire bluntly replied. "At least now I'm sure of who you are and what your intentions are… In any case, I'm just thrilled about this new jutsu-"

_"__OYYY_!" The voice, ostensibly of Sumire's former self, chided her._ "STAY FOCUSED!"_

"Sorry," Sumire apologized as she shook her head. However, when she focused once again at her arms, she saw right through them. "What's happening?" She screamed and panicked upon seeing that they had become translucent, almost transparent, except for thin mists that were colored red, flesh, and white.

_"I don't want to die!"_ Sumire thought in her mind._ "I don't want to die! I… I want to stay here! I want to live! Not just for myself, but for Boruto… and for everyone else!"_

_"__OYY!" _Sumire Shigaraki's voice echoed loudly inside her mind._ "You're not going to die! Keep your focus! Calm-"_

Due to her panic, Sumire lost her focus, and subsequently lost control of both the chakra flow in her hands and the jutsu itself. The yellow sphere dissipated rapidly, while the purple sphere immediately collapsed inwards and crunched at the center. Then just as quickly, it exploded violently outwards, directed forwards down the sloped path where Sumire was facing. The powerful blowback catapulted Sumire, Wasabi, and Nue above and behind their foxhole on the crest of the ridge, landing them fortunately onto the soft snow, while the blast blew the charging soldiers further back down the mountain. Most of the ridgeline was obliterated by the sheer force of the explosion, and the resulting avalanche and rockfall swept most of the Earth shinobi completely off the mountainside to their doom, leaving only a few survivors buried under the fresh snow and rock that now left the entire lower Hod Pass highly unstable.

* * *

_**What did you all think of Chapter 22? Again, feel free to leave comments, reviews, likes, faves, and follows! They all help me grow as an author =D**_

_**RIP Team 40, Enko seeing all her teammates die in brutal fashions right in front of her, Team 25 coming to the rescue, Namida's First Fonic Hymn, Namida and Wasabi being badly wounded, Wasabi's horrific injuries, Namida's absolutely brutal death, and Sumire (both Kakei and Shigaraki identities actually working together) turning back time? =O =O =O**_

_**Also, there is some science to what Sumire did (and with her negative/dark chakra abilities, she can definitely do it too), and I partially explained it through her suggestion to her Shigaraki alter-ego. But most of the real science (the antimatter, dark matter, more on fonons and Sound/vibration fonons) will actually come in the second book of this seven-part series, "A Spark of Hope" =D **_

_**What's going to happen to Sumire, Wasabi, Namida, Enko, Hako, and to Team 25? Tune in to next Sunday's chapter! Next Sunday (September 29, 2018), Chapter 23: "Impasse" will be uploaded, and it'll focus on the direct aftermath of the events of Chapter 22. Meanwhile, two Sundays from now, I'll drop Chapter 24: "Somewhere Under The Starry Violet Sky". It will be one of the most "kilig"/heartwarming and emotional chapters in the entire book. Chapters 24-26 will be really emotional, albeit in different ways, though they could all make you cry... huehuehue ='(**_

_**PS: The scene where Wasabi tries to help Namida escape, where she loses both her arms (first to a sniper shot, and second to a frag grenade), and where she tries to drag Namida further, with no more arms to use, by biting on her clothes, **_**_when Namida said her final goodbye and her last message to her love, _**_**and when Namida threw Wasabi to safety... Was it impactful for you guys? I modeled that scene after Violet Evergarden Episode 9, where Wasabi is Violet Evergarden and Namida is Colonel Gilbert Bougainvillea! It's one of the most memorable and impactful scenes in the whole anime! ='(**_


	23. Impasse

_**Hello everyone! Welcome back, my loyal readers hehee! ^_^**_

_**Chapter 23 is slightly more chill (key work: slightly) than the previous two chapters, although there are still some graphic descriptions in one part of the story. In any case, it's more focused on the relationships between our favorite shinobis and kunoichis, especially now that they're being strained because of the ongoing battle. Also, there's an element of mystery and foreboding too, especially with what happened to Sumire in the previous chapter... =O**_

_**Anyway, I hope everyone likes Chapter 23! Feel free to leave non-troll comments/reviews and likes/favorites/follows/kudos, etc! =D **_

* * *

**Chapter 23: Impasse**

"Sumire!" Wasabi and Nue scrambled to Sumire's side, worried that she might have been badly hurt or killed by the sudden explosion. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, Sumire opened her eyes and brought her hands up to her face to wipe her eyes clear of the mist that had formed on them. "Yes… I'm okay… just a bit dizzy…"

Then, they heard a faint, muffled voice of a girl beyond the ruined ridgeline. "Help me… Wasabi… Sumire… Please!"

Within a heartbeat, Wasabi recognized the voice of the person most precious to her, the person she loved most above all else. "NAMIDA! Don't worry, I'm coming right away!" Sumire froze in fear, her heart skipping multiple beats. She remembered seeing Namida's mutilated, headless body just moments ago, but now she was hearing her voice again. Or did those few moments of time not exist anymore, after what she did? Or worse, was she perhaps hallucinating everything? Were all of them actually dead? Was this her unreliable mind's brilliant idea of ending her life with a sugarcoated but false vision, a feel-good alternate version of reality?

"Sumire!" Wasabi called for help, snapping her out of her thoughts and bringing her mind back to the critical situation. Her mind now registered the pain of the impact from the explosion and the sting of the heartless snow on her exposed skin. This was definitely no hallucination, her mind concluded, and so she sighed with relief as she began to crawl on all fours towards where Wasabi had gone. When her eyes peeked over the destroyed defensive trench, she saw that nearly the entire lower Hod Pass was now covered with a new thick layer of snow from the avalanche and rockfall she had unintentionally triggered. She then turned her head to where Wasabi's voice came from and saw Wasabi was now digging the half-buried Namida out from the suffocating snow.

Sumire, still dazed from the aftereffects of the burst that was so close to her, only managed to reach Wasabi and Namida with the assistance from Nue, who wrapped its tail around both her wrists and ran down the slope in its mini form, gently dragging Sumire belly-down through the unstable snow as if she was a sled. When she got closer to her two teammates, she could hear and see that Namida was now breathing and talking again. Namida was now still, or rather once again, alive, a huge relief for Sumire. Her head was back in one piece, although her face was still stained by a lot of blood flowing out from her mouth. The only wound she had left was a gaping hole in her torso, a through-and-through, with a small hole in her back and a much larger hole out under her breast.

"She's still bleeding badly!" Wasabi exclaimed to Sumire as she fully dug Namida out from the cold reddened snow.

"Wasabi," Namida managed to spit out with a splattering of blood, "I love you… so much…"

"Namida, stay with me please!" Wasabi pleaded with her girlfriend. "Don't give up! We'll treat you right away!"

"It hurts… so bad…" Namida moaned and squirmed in pain, squeezing her girlfriend's hand so hard that it left deep nail marks on her skin.

"This will help with the pain." Wasabi placed her hands on Namida's stiffening chest and focused her chakra into the gaping wound. "Light Style: Potent Anesthesia."

The bluish white chakra entered into Namida's body, and it worked to numb the sensation of pain. Within a few seconds, Namida's breathing calmed down, and she stopped trembling in agony. "Wasabi… Sumire… I want to live…"

"I won't let you die," Wasabi promised as Namida's vision blurred and her eyes closed, and her grip on Wasabi's hand gradually disappeared as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Nue," Sumire asked her summoning creature, "can you carry Namida back to Rem Fortress?" Nue purred in its smallest form, then enlarged itself to the size of a liger once again, and then let out a terrific roar.

"Her right lung is perforated," Wasabi diagnosed on the spot, informing Sumire of the severity of Namida's condition. "It's collapsing, and it's filling with blood fast… We'll have to operate on her as soon as possible…"

As Wasabi and Sumire carefully laid Namida onto the now liger-sized Nue, Sumire now felt a pang of guilt. If she had kept control of her jutsu for a while longer, she thought that Namida could be perfectly okay now. But as to the possibility of her using her newfound jutsu again, she was very weakened and even more afraid of the possibility of another accidental explosion, which this time could kill them all, so she decided not to try again.

"Sumire…" Wasabi sighed as the two of them walked up the Hod trail alongside Nue, with Namida on Nue. "Thanks for saving her… Thanks for getting her back…" She placed her hand on Sumire's shoulder as a sign of thanks. "I don't know how you did what you did… but thank you so much."

"I… I did my best," Sumire sadly and weakly responded. "Sorry I couldn't turn back time long enough… to get the bullet out of Namida-"

Sumire suddenly tripped and fell to her knees. "Sumire!" Wasabi rushed to her teammate's side, while Nue and the unconscious Namida walked on ahead towards the upper Hod trench defenses, where Boruto and Inojin were supposed to be.

"I'm okay… I think I'm okay… Just dizzy… and weakened… that jutsu took a lot out of me and my chakra…"

"But Sumire," Wasabi groaned as she pulled Sumire's arm across her shoulder and lifted her upright, "I think you used a level of power that should have… Please, let me give you a medical examination later."

"Just don't tell anybody about what happened… because I can't fully explain it either…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

"OPEN THE GATE!" Boruto's shouted orders were heard by almost everyone in the fortress complex, and Denki rushed to open the steel-reinforced stone doors of the Hod Gate.

"Holy shit! What happened?" Denki asked in shock as Boruto and Sarada guided Nue with Namida.

"Namida was shot," Wasabi grunted while supporting Sumire through the gate. She then hesitated before lying to cover for her purple-haired close friend. "Sumire… was dazed because of the shells bursting. Aside from that, she's fine."

While Mitsuki put pressure to stem the bleeding wounds on both sides of her chest, Inojin ran in and called Hanabi for help. Meanwhile, Team 7 rushed the pale and fading Namida into the emergency room. "I'll operate on her right away," Hanabi replied while running to the fortress infirmary.

Before Denki could respond, Wasabi lightly grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. She whispered, "Something happened to Sumire a while ago… Can you run some tests on her with me later? And please keep this a secret."

Denki was confused, but he nodded nonetheless. "I'll be free later tonight, around 9 o'clock. Would that work for the two of you? I'll be able to get my lab works ready then."

Wasabi agreed, but Sumire tried to wiggle out of Wasabi's grasp. "I'm fine. No need to worry about me, you two. I just-"

A loud warning bell rang frantically from one of the fortress lookout towers, interrupting Sumire. Boruto and the others came running out from the main building, where the infirmary was located. Together, Kakashi, Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Konohamaru, Shikadai, Inojin, Iwabe, Denki, Wasabi, and Sumire, looked to the lookout tower, where Moegi and Udon were waving at them.

"The Earth Army is closing in!" Moegi, the lookout at the time with Udon, informed the others from the north side of the fortress. "Hundreds marching up the Feres Pass."

"Shit! We have to keep them away from the walls," Iwabe warned. "I didn't design them to withstand an massed siege-style assault! That's why we focused our defense on the mountain passes in the first place!"

"We'll have to fight them here and now," exhorted Boruto with determination oozing in his voice.

"Wait…" Udon motioned. "They've stopped where the path flattens out. Only a few people are coming closer, and they're waving a white flag."

"Why would they be surrendering?" Mitsuki wondered. "They clearly have every numerical and logistical advantage over us…"

"That's because it's not a surrender," Shikadai replied as everyone rushed and climbed up the stairs to the lookout spot and the top of the wall. "It's a parley!"

Kakashi scanned the pass and saw the approaching party, with a few prisoners in tow that he immediately recognized. "It's Team 25! They must have been captured."

Houki, Renga, and Sensei Shizuka were brought to within a stone's throw of Feres Gate, where a parleying negotiating party stopped. One man, a wrinkled man with a sinister sneer and a soldier's cap adorned by medallions, stepped further forward. "Surrender your base and your regiment inside," he demanded in a loud, projected voice towards the defenders on top of the stony wall. He continued the list of demands. "Let our army pass through unimpeded, and we will let you march out of this fortress with your lives."

"We will only discuss terms with the head of your army," Shikadai defiantly replied, "not some mere messenger."

"And why is that? So you can kill him and leave us leaderless?"

"We're not as dishonorable as you think," Kakashi spoke up and motioned for Shikadai to let him do the talking. "I am Kakashi Hatake, Konoha Squadron Leader, and formerly the Sixth Hokage. And who am I speaking to right now?"

The old man removed his hat, tucked in into his armpit, and saluted. "You are well known to us, Lord Kakashi Hatake. My name is Commander An Ver." The old man stared a hole into Shikadai's face, and Shikadai swallowed nervously. "I am the general of the Second Army of the Land of Earth, and I am also one of the right hand men of Shogun Roa Du Tertae himself."

Whispers of awe broke out amongst the Konoha squadron. "Again, I demand that you let us pass. Continuing this battle will only result in unnecessary bloodshed for both our sides."

"I highly doubt you will let us leave in peace if we do surrender," Konohamaru spat back.

"You're an observant one," Ver surmised, "Konohamaru, the grandson of the third Hokage, and the Eighth Hokage for less than a day…" Ver chuckled in mocking pity, and Konohamaru clenched his fist. "But yes. We will take you prisoner and send you to a concentration camp in the Earth Nation, where you will live out the rest of the war… if not your lives…"

Kakashi tapped his fingers on the stone outcrop he leaned on. "And what if I refuse to surrender?"

"If you choose to keep fighting, we will annihilate you. I assure you that if you do not surrender, we will wipe you out and leave no survivors."

"Yet you will be delayed in your mission," Kakashi countered. "I'm sure you have a tight schedule to keep. Your will be very disappointed in you."

"So I take it that you're refusing my offer of leniency in surrendering?"

"Of course!" Sarada shouted. "No surrender!"

"Are you sure about this, little Uchiha girl?" Ver smirked. "Bring forth the older prisoner," he ordered his subordinates, who pushed Shizuka forward, kicked him down to his knees, and restrained them by his arms. He then reached into his dark green coat, pulled out a special pistol, one with three separated barrels indicating a tri-shot, and aimed at the back of Shizuka's head. He made sure to look into Sarada's eyes with a smirk as he pulled the trigger. The substitute sensei's head exploded, with pieces of his skull and brain flying all over the place, and his twitching body fell forwards leaking a massive amount of blood and gore. "His blood is on you, Uchiha! Not me!"

"You fucking monster!" Boruto roared.

"This is against the rules of war," Shikadai objected. "Prisoners-of-war are supposed to be treated with dignity!"

Ver laughed callously as he reloaded the pistol's three chambers. "And who will punish me that I _allegedly_ broke the rules of war? When my country wins this war, I will come home a hero and be venerated. Nobody would dare touch me with a case about your human rights, since nobody would ever give a shit about you again!" He aimed at Shizuka's corpse and shot him thrice more, this time in the chest. The exit wounds intersected as the bullets tore through him, and some of his organs fell out from him through the gaping hole in the side of his torso. Afterwards, Ver visibly had fun crushing his spilled organs with multiple stomps using his dark brown boots.

The defenders of the Rem Fortress stood in shock and horror at the vile display there were seeing. "Now I will ask you one more time," Ver deadpanned after splattering Shizuka's remains all over the path, as if brutally killing a surrendered prisoner-of-war was nothing out of the ordinary for him. "Surrender now, or all of you will die just as he did… and so will these two." He reloaded his tri-shot pistol and pointed his gun in the direction of Houki and Renga, who both cowered on all fours.

"NEVER!" Sarada was outraged, throwing a kunai at his feet. "Never to the likes of you!"

"Are you insane?" Denki held her arms and pulled her back from the wall. "You want us to be executed like that too?"

"All of you," Kakashi whispered to both of them, trying to rectify the worsening situation. "If you wish to have a discussion about it, go down to the courtyard. Don't have it here where they can see us." He then turned to the opposing general. "We will take a minute to consider your offer. In return, I expect you will not attack us until then."

"Fine by me," Ver answered nonchalantly as he turned around, ostensibly to continue pummeling the dead Shizuka's body, with kicks, stomps, and the occasional extra shot.

With that, Denki nodded and let go of Sarada, and everyone save for Kakashi climbed down the stairs to talk. "So," Sarada began, "Denki. You want to surrender?"

Denki let out a long sigh. "If death is the only other outcome we all face… yes. This is the last thing I want to do, but I don't want any more of us to die unnecessarily. At least, if we surrender, we'll have a chance to live."

"Denki has a right to worry," Shikadai analyzed. "Our position here and now is untenable, there's no question about it. But nonetheless, I don't want to surrender… I'll try to come up with a plan so we can slip out without the Earth Army knowing."

"I'm cool with escaping, but not with surrendering," Boruto sided with Sarada and Shikadai. "Giving up is just so uncool, dammit! Surrendering is pure cowardice! I'd rather fight on no matter what!"

"Even against that?" Iwabe cautiously pointed. "You have a death wish then! You heard Shikadai: We cannot win against such insurmountable odds. We're outnumbered by some thousands to one, our defenses in the passes have been overcome, and the walls weren't designed to endure an extended pounding. They'll sap these walls and collapse them faster than you think."

"Wasabi and Sumire said that the lower part of Hod Pass was blocked off by their own artillery," Mitsuki informed him. "It's extremely unstable now, and whoever tries to use it risks being buried by sudden avalanches."

"But Feres Pass is still passable!" Iwabe angrily reasoned out. "You saw the enemy at the Feres Gate! They are right there! What can we do?"

"The Traverse that bypasses the Hod Pass from Feres Pass is also still intact," Wasabi added, although there was a hint of hesitation in her voice. "I don't think… uh, their bombings… made the upper Hod trail impassable."

"If they attack now," Boruto asked Iwabe and Denki, "and we stay behind the walls and wait, how long could the gate and walls hold? How long can we hold out?"

"Not long," Iwabe leaned against the inside wall in frustration. "If they try to sap the walls with jutsus or blast it with their artillery, I'm telling you, we won't last more than half an hour at most."

"They have a clear advantage in numbers and weapons," Udon analyzed. "A lot of them have modern firearms which would make even the least trained fighter dangerous, and the remaining actually have jutsus we have to look out for. Anyone here who tries to fight an army that big, that powerful, head on and in the open, is mad."

Konohamaru hastily came up with a plan. "But if we can attack them in the pass itself and prevent them from even reaching the walls entirely, would that solve your issue? The Feres Pass is narrow and defendable enough, even near the gates."

"It will be harder for them to push through well developed lines of defense," Shikadai thought out loud. "But we don't have well developed lines right in front of the Feres Gate, do we? Defenses of barbed wire or trenches or foxholes… Hell, we don't have any lines there at all! No more defenses, no pre-dug trenches, nothing. It won't be that hard for them to swamp us if we fight in front of the gate. It would be better if we fought and harassed them from the top of the walls, but since Iwabe says the walls won't last long anyway, that's not an option either…"

"During the Third Great Ninja War," Konohamaru recounted, "The Fourth Hokage was able to save the entire Konoha regiment pinned down in the middle of the warzone by killing thousands of enemy shinobi in less than half a day. If we could only do what he did-"

"Do you think anyone here is currently on that same level?" Moegi asked in return. "They're only teenagers! The only one who even came close is Kakashi-sensei, and he no longer has his Sharingan."

"Enough!" Wasabi stopped the argument. "While we're here talking, the army could attack us at any second. We need to make this decision now… I say we put it to a vote."

"Fine by me!" Denki and Sarada angrily replied in unison.

Sarada then took a quick headcount of those present around her. "There are 13 of us here right now, including Kakashi-sensei." She sighed and admitted, "I would have liked for everyone to make this decision as one whole group, but since the others are either in the infirmary right now, or worse… Anyway, this should be a decisive vote."

"Raise your hands," Denki ordered, "if you want to stop the fighting." Denki raised his own hand, which was followed quickly be Iwabe, Inojin, Udon, and Moegi. After a second more of thinking, Wasabi cursed audibly and raised her hand.

_"__Six… not the majority,"_ Denki thought inside his mind. "_Dammit, we're all going to die here, aren't we…?"_

"Now your raise your hands or speak up," Sarada asked, "if you wish to continue the fight." Sarada and Boruto immediately raised their hands, and so did Mitsuki and Konohamaru.

Shikadai only copied them after a few seconds of analyzing their current situation. "We can have an organized fighting retreat."

Above them, Kakashi leaned down towards them and spoke, "I'm all for keeping up the good fight too, just so you'd know."

"That makes… six…" Sarada counted, and quickly she knew something was wrong.

Denki was also confused. "Wait a minute, six to six? It's a tie… but we're 13 in all, aren't we?"

Kakashi asked, "Does my vote count as a tiebreaker?"

"No," Sarada replied. "It just means that someone hasn't voted yet…"

"It's… me…" Everyone looked towards Sumire, who was fidgeting madly. "I… I really don't know…"

Inside her head, she was panicking, struggling to make her decision. _"Wasabi is choosing to surrender, and Namida would likely choose that too. But Boruto and Sarada are choosing to fight on… While I don't want to die, I don't want anyone else to die, especially because of me… If I can prevent anyone else from dying, I would give my own life if need be…" _

She remembered the very words she promised to Boruto and Sarada years ago, during the camping trip at Denki's place. _"I promise both of you, I will devote all the power and skill I can muster to protect and help you guys, just as you did for me…"_

"Sumire?" Denki and Sarada pressed her on simultaneously, and Sumire finally gave in.

"I'll… fight on too!"

Denki collapsed to the ground and covered his face with his hands. "We're all going to die…"

Shikadai sighed and patted his shoulder, "The escape I planned in my head won't guarantee that everyone survives… But if we do all die, we might as well go out with a bang…"

Kakashi kept looking nervously at the younger generation, reflecting and remembering what he had gone through during the Third and Fourth Great Ninja Wars. The friends he had lost, the trauma that stuck with him for much of his lifetime, the mindless destruction, and the suffering that the people from all nations involved went through. _"How I hate that mentality," _Kakashi reflected internally_. "So many people have died for no purpose thinking that way…" _Turning away from the squadron he headed, he looked back at the Feres trail beyond the walls and was utterly surprised.

"Everyone," Kakashi announced, "relax. You're not going to die today."

Denki despondently replied, "If that's supposed to be some sort of encouragement-"

"It's not! The Earth Army has withdrawn!" Everyone quickly climbed back up the stairs to the lookout spot, and saw that there was no single enemy left in sight. They had all left during their discussion and subsequent vote. Only Houki and Renga left behind. Both of them were still on all fours near the desecrated body of their substitute sensei, Shizuka.

It was then that Kakashi realized what Ver had planned all along. "He merely wanted to plant a rift within the group. That way, there would be infighting between all of us, and instead of one united force fighting against him, there would only be a weakened, splintered, half-hearted resistance that they would more easily overcome later on."

"Divide and Conquer," Shikadai summarized. "Dammit, he played us very well…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Upon nightfall, Boruto and Iwabe set out from the Feres Gate. They carried with them the last of the scrolls where barbed wire, explosives booby traps, bamboo spikes, and other defensive equipment were stored, so that they could repair some of the defenses closer to them on the Feres Pass, as well as make more secret traps that would harass the enemy army going up the path. They were acting on Konohamaru's earlier suggestion to make the pass more defensible, and so they decided to add more traps much closer to the gate, where the Feres Path was more horizontal than sloped.

Meanwhile, inside the map room, Sarada and Shikadai leaned back on the stone chairs they were sitting on, reading some papers that Denki had printed for them. Denki, on the other hand, stood beside the scale relief model of Mount Tirad he had 3-D printed several days ago, carefully brushing his fingers over the snowy white paths, the exposed brownish-black stone of the mountain, and the brown square in the middle of the mountain pass that symbolized their Rem Fortress.

Sarada smiled. "This will do, Denki. Thank you. By the way, what time do you think Boruto and Iwabe will be back?"

"In the best case scenario, they'll be done repairing by 8:30? So that's like two hours from now."

"Okay. He still has his shift later after midnight, in the very early morning, so I'd like him to rest up too. If you see him later, please tell him to rest up."

Denki nodded and turned to leave, taking one last look at the two of them. Sarada had put the papers down onto the table, while Shikadai closed his eyes and tapped the table, obviously in deep thought. _"I hope they're able to make good use of them,"_ Denki hoped internally. _"Anyway, now I need to prepare for the tests Wasabi requested for Sumire to take…"_

Denki twisted the handle on the door and opened in inwards to leave the room, only to stumble into Sumire, who was standing right outside about to open the door herself. "Oh! Hi Sumire!"

"Hey Denki-"

Denki closed the door behind him and pulled Sumire aside. "I'm going to prepare your tests for later," he said softly, almost as if he was whispering. "Is it okay for you and Wasabi to meet me in the lab room of the infirmary by 9?"

Sumire sighed and nodded. "I don't really want those tests, but since both of you insist, I'll take them. What kind of tests are they?"

"That's what I'm going to ask Wasabi the specifics for. But I'm sure some blood works and range of motion tests are pretty much mandatory for Wasabi. And maybe even a brain scan, if she's that concerned." Denki continued, preventing Sumire from reacting. "But I highly doubt anything too concerning will come up; you look and feel fine after all, right?"

Sumire agreed with him. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. See you at 9 o'clock then."

Denki patted her on the shoulder and turned to leave in the direction of the infirmary. Sumire, on the other hand, entered the room, greeting her two friends who were still inside. "Sarada, Shikadai."

"Hey Sumire…" Sarada greeted back, with her voice expressing deep regret. "I'm really sorry about a while ago. Namida was right, we shouldn't have left you guys alone. Now Namida-"

"You mustn't blame yourself for that," Sumire cut her off with a gentle pat on her shoulder. "I was the one who decided to stay there."

"Still… dammit! I can't help but feel guilty for putting you guys in that situation. If only I could turn back time and fix my mistakes…"

Sumire blanked out as the weird, unexplainable event flashed back to her. She remembered the cold, distant, loathing, hurt-filled voice of the old Sumire Shigaraki echoing inside her head and all around her. She remembered the slowing seconds of time when bullets whizzed by her, and then everything going in the reverse of their logical directions. She saw again a mental picture of her arms becoming translucent, and the utter fear she felt in her heart and soul.

For a while, nothing Sarada said or did registered in Sumire's mind. Only when Shikadai verbally shook her did she snap back to her reality. "Are you okay, Sumire? Is something the matter?"

"I'm… fine," Sumire reassured them as she took a seat in front of the stone table. "Please don't worry about me. And Sarada, please don't blame yourself for Namida's situation. But anyway, that's not what I went here to talk about."

Sarada pulled up her chair closer to the table and leaned in to listen to Sumire, while Shikadai sat beside her and kept his attention to the three-dimensional colored relief map of Mount Hod.

"Sarada," Sumire began, "you know I would never contradict you in front of everyone else. But they're right. We will not win this battle. Not with that huge army out there, not with their technology and weaponry, and not with the strength we have left. We are too few and too wounded to fight on. If this keeps up, we'll only last until the end of the week, at most."

"It's already Friday night," Shikadai chimed in whilst looking over some paper files, which Sumire noted showed a lot of data regarding oxygen levels, precipitation variables, and wind conditions for the coming days. A complete weather forecast, she concluded in her head.

"Then I'm sure you already know what I mean," Sumire gently replied.

Sarada clasped her hands together and replied to Sumire, "I understand your concerns about our situation, Sumire, and with good reason. I agree with you. You're right."

"What?" Sumire was baffled. "I don't quite understand. You voted to keep fighting, didn't you?"

"We're not going to surrender," Sarada clarified. "If we do, we're as good as dead. And to your main point, we're not necessarily going to win this fight. But every hour, every minute, and every second that we keep delaying the Earth Second Army from reaching Ame and Konoha is a big victory in itself. And we will survive this, so that's a win enough for me."

"I admire the optimism," Sumire nodded her head. "But how can you say that we will all survive this battle?"

Sarada smiled. "Because we have a plan. Shikadai, would you please explain it to Sumire?"

Shikadai nodded, pushing some sheets of white paper towards Sumire. "According to Denki's last weather forecast days ago, there is a supertyphoon headed right our way. One of the strongest ones ever to hit the region, it said. The forecast predicted that it'll hit us around one to two days from now, so that should provide enough of a lull in the fighting that we can escape. And don't worry; we won't be escaping while the winds are strong. We'll be going down the mountain while the eye of the storm is directly over us."

"The storm's eye," Sumire remarked, "the calm before the storm. Will that pause be long enough for us to get down the mountain safely?"

Shikadai shook his head. "Not even close," he admitted bluntly. "But it could be long enough that we get about partway down before the strongest winds slam into us again."

"Still," Sarada pointed out, "that's our best shot. And the Earth forces won't even know we'd already gone. They'd still be hunkering down in their camps at that time. Hopefully."

Sumire alternated her observant gaze to the relief map and to the forecast, lightly tapping her fingernails on the table. "How old is this data?"

"Almost two days old," Shikadai responded. "It came into Denki's laptop just before our Internet connection was wiped out."

"And are you sure that the storm isn't going to deviate from this path? That it isn't going to end up missing us entirely?"

"Denki reanalyzed the data for us. He said that it's too late for any huge or major shift in the storm's direction, because of the lack of high-pressure areas or anything else to push it away from us. It's almost assuredly going to land a direct hit on Mount Tirad. The question is solely on its speed now; whether it arrives before or after midday tomorrow remains to be seen."

After a short while of analyzing the plan in her head, Sumire nodded. "This is our best chance at getting out of here alive. I'm all for it."

"Great," Sarada pumped her fist in celebration. "Let's get to work on the fine details, and then inform Kakashi-sensei about our plan!"

"No need for that." The three friends turned to see Kakashi leaning on the stone frame of the doorway. Even though he was wearing his mask, it could be inferred from his glowing eyes that he was smiling. "I've been all-ears for a while now."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Sarada, Sumire, and Shikadai all left the map room just before 9 o'clock in the evening, leaving Kakashi to brainstorm any more details or complications about the escape plan that could come up in his mind. Most of what they had discussed was approved by the former Sixth Hokage, with a few notable additions from him, such as the idea of a rockslide trap that would block off the pass while they withdraw from the Rem Fortress, further impeding the progress of the Earth Second Army.

"I'm going to sleep," Shikadai yawned. "I'm just drained today. What about you two?"

"I want to check on Namida's condition," Sumire worriedly replied. "Hanabi-sensei came by and said that the operation was a success, but she's still in a critical situation."

"I'm going with her too," Sarada added. "I want to see how she's doing too."

"I really hope her condition improves in the coming hours," Shikadai sighed. "Okay then, good night. See you two in the morning… Oh, and say hi to Namida and Wasabi for me."

While Shikadai headed to bed in the men's sleeping room, the two girls walked side by side in the other direction towards the infirmary. When they entered, they found Konohamaru comforting Hanabi, who was obviously distraught over the possibility of losing one of her prized students.

Respectfully leaving their two senseis alone, the two best friends moved on and approached two doors. The one on the left led to the recovery room, and it had a large glass window from which Sarada saw Chocho, Metal, Houki, Renga, Hako, and Enko, all resting with IV tubes hooked up to them. Chocho was asleep on her bed, snoring loud enough that they could hear her from outside, and as such most of the other patients inside the room were wide-awake and struggling to get any sleep, such as Hako, Enko, and Houki, who were tossing and turning in their beds and wrapping their pillows around their heads trying to muffle out the sound of Chocho's snoring.

On the other hand, Metal was obviously wide-awake, gritting his teeth partly in annoyance from Chocho, but mostly from the excruciating pain in his legs. Hanabi and Wasabi had both advised him that it would be best to cut both his legs off to prevent further sepsis, but he adamantly refused, saying that he doesn't want to be a cripple for the rest of his life.

The other room, the one on the right side of the hallway, served as the intensive care unit, and the two girls went inside. Namida laid there on the medical bed, with clear tubes stained crimson red sticking in and out of her wrists and chest to assist her heart in keeping her blood flowing, as well as supplying her body with more blood, intravenous fluids and nutrients. A ventilator worked tirelessly behind her to help her breathe enough oxygen, and counteract the negative effects of her lung collapsing. Beside Namida, Wasabi sat at her bedside, gripping her lover's hands, unwilling to leave her for even a second.

"We saved her in time," Wasabi muttered before looking at Sarada and Sumire. "Hanabi-sensei saved her life… Yet she still feels guilty though, that she left us behind."

"At least Namida's alive," Sarada quietly sighed in relief. "More than what can be said for most of Team 40…"

Sumire added, "I'm not even sure if Enko knows what happened to her teammates… It must be so tough…"

"Enko knows already," Wasabi clarified. "She was crying about seeing her friend's dead bodies the entire afternoon, up until less than an hour ago. Hako, on the other hand… I'm not sure if she knows that Sensei Shizuka is dead… I don't want to tell her about it."

"Also," she continued, "Namida isn't anywhere near out of the woods yet. She needs to get expert treatment, either in Ame or Konoha."

"We'll get her down the mountain soon," Sarada assured Wasabi as she pulled up two chairs, one for her and one for Sumire, beside Namida's bedside and to Wasabi's left. "No one else is going to have to die. We've made a plan of escape already."

Wasabi nodded. "So I've heard. Denki told me about what he discussed with Sarada and Shikadai. Speaking of, isn't it almost 9 o'clock?"

"It's already 9:09 pm," Sarada checked. "Why?"

Wasabi looked at Sumire, who was staring at Namida. "Nothing really. I just think that we should have some rest tonight. There is a storm coming very soon, if I heard what Denki said correctly."

"It's most likely arriving before lunchtime tomorrow," Sarada replied. "Though the forecast is days old, and it could be somewhat inaccurate."

"That will give us enough time to rest a bit. They're not going to launch an attack while the storm is overhead. That would be stupid and unnecessarily risky for them to do."

Sarada nodded. "Yes, that's what I think too."

"Anyway," Wasabi quickly rose to her feet and gave the sleeping Namida a kiss on the cheek. She then looked up towards Sarada. "Can I borrow Sumire for a while? We need to talk in private."

"Ohh… umm, alright. But if you need anyone else to talk to, I can listen. You can vent on me too, got it?"

"I'd love to, but I'll save that for another time. Chocho needs you too. I'm sure you'd like to check up on her too."

"You're right," Sarada relented and stood up. "I'll see how she's doing. See you two later in our room?"

"Yup!" Sumire waved. "See you later!"

Sarada walked out of the room and was about to open the other door where Chocho and the others were, when she noticed that Wasabi took Sumire and whisked her into another room at the end of the corridor of the infirmary. Through the door that Wasabi had opened, Sarada even saw Denki inside, standing beside a lot of equipment that he had turned on. Wasabi quickly closed the door after she led Sumire though, but now Sarada's suspicions and interest were captured.

She took one more look through the glass pane and saw Chocho still asleep, snoring as loudly as ever, with some of the people next to her still failing to find any sleep.

"Chocho will be alright," Sarada decided. She stealthily snuck to the door of the lab room, where Sumire, Wasabi, and Denki were inside. Carefully, she placed her ear next to the door and eavesdropped on their distinct voices and their conversation.

_"__Wait… Sumire did WHAT?"_

_"__I can't explain it any better than that. And I'm quite sure it wasn't hallucinating or imagining things. I was shot! And then un-shot!" _

_"__But Wasabi, you can't be serious… how come I didn't feel it?" _

_"__I don't even know what I did, Denki, but Wasabi's right. I turned back time somehow, even just for a small area. But I lost control of the jutsu, and the chakra surged and triggered a huge explosion."_

_"__Ohh… so that's what actually blocked the lower parts of Hod Pass, not their own bombing spree? So that's why you sounded as if you were having a really hard time explaining how the lower reaches of Hod trail were made impassable, right?"_

_"__Yes Denki, that's correct."_

_"__Hmm… A jutsu that turns the flow of time backwards… but for a specific area only… I've never heard of such a thing before…."_

_"__Denki, just do the tests please? I'm worried because she used such enormous amounts of chakra and power…"_

_"…__Okay. I'll take both of your words for it. Blood tests and DNA tests, I take it?"_

_"__How about having a brain scan too? Sumire said she hears voices in her head…"_

_"__No need for that! It's just the old Sumire… the old me. She was the one who instructed me on how to perform the jutsu in the first place."_

_"…__Alright. I'll do blood tests, DNA tests, and a brain scan. I'll even suggest a tissue test and an overall physical exam, though the last one should obviously be Wasabi doing it for you, not me. Is that alright with you, Sumire?"_

_"__How long will all of this take?"_

_"__Around two hours at the quickest. We'll be done early enough that you'll still have enough sleep later."_

_"__More time for my writing then… I'm having a really hard time staying asleep nowadays. At most, I'll get five hours of sleep before I wake up. And once I wake up, it's such a struggle to fall asleep again…"_

_"…__We do have medication for insomnia, you know?"_

Outside the door, Sarada tried to absorb everything she was hearing. "Sumire… turning back time… Wasabi un-shot… the old Sumire… Just what the hell is going on?" She silently pressed her ear back to the door to keep listening in.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Sitting on the stone desk in the middle of the women's bedroom, Sumire held her fountain pen and tapped it on her chin. Her yellow notebook laid splayed open in front of her, and she pondered on what words to use next in her writings, which had a mixed structure somewhere between poems and songs.

To Sumire's right, Wasabi tried desperately to fall sleep, with her own thick and furry blanket tucked high up to her neck. She tossed and turned endlessly, grunting and lamenting each passing minute of staying awake with no relief in sight. Sumire figured that she was obviously worried about both Sumire and her girlfriend Namida, with slightly more emphasis on her Namida. To Sumire's left on the other hand, Sarada was asleep, but also moving about on her bed, the thin blanket she had brought with her almost having fallen off the bed entirely. Maybe she was having a nightmare, Sumire thought internally, or maybe she was also having a rough night of sleep as well, just like Wasabi and Sumire herself.

Looking to the corner of her rock table, her charging phone showed a digital clock with the time of 2:45 in the early morning. _"Dammit, I've only been asleep for three and a half hours tonight," _she reminded herself, begging her mind to simply ease her into slumber once again. _"Please… I need more sleep than this…"_

Hearing disturbed moans from Sarada, Sumire put her pen down and walked to her bedside. Right as she sat down on Sarada's bed, Sarada screamed, sat up, and grabbed Sumire's shoulders. She had a worried, terrified look on her face, and she was sweating bullets. Her breaths were short pants, as if she just came back from running a marathon or climbing to the summit of Mount Tirad.

"Sumire… you're here… thank goodness…"

"Of course I am, Sarada…" Sumire reassured her and pulled her best friend into a long, deep, comforting hug. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Yeah… I just thought that I lost you, Boruto, Mitsuki, Wasabi, and everyone else… Really sorry for hassling you…"

"This is nothing… I'm here, Sarada. I won't leave you alone."

After a while, Sarada noticed that the electric lamp on the bedside table was turned on, and that Sumire's notebook and pen were both opened. "Sumi… you're also having problems sleeping?"

"Yeah…" Sumire nodded and replied, "I think everyone is too tense and worried to sleep."

"You could say that again," Wasabi audibly mumbled into her head pillow before pushing herself up to her knees. "Ughhh I give up… gahhh dammit! I just can't fall asleep tonight."

"So that makes the three of us," Sarada sighed. Wasabi stumbled over to Sarada's bed while rubbing her eyes. She flopped onto it face first beside Sumire, and very nearly crushing Sarada's feet in the process, as she missed the tips of Sarada's toes by mere inches.

"Wasabi and I came back to the room around 11," Sumire recounted her memory from a few hours ago. "I just plopped on the bed to sleep, while Wasabi kept pacing back and forth. I had a bad nightmare too about my childhood, and I woke up from it around fifteen minutes ago before you woke up too. I've been spending my time writing some poems in my notebook so that I can exhaust my mind and hopefully go to sleep easier."

"That reminds me though," Wasabi turned to Sarada, "you weren't even back yet. I had checked the two infirmary rooms to check on Namida's condition and to look for you, but you weren't there with Chocho or the others. Plus, you came back and went to bed about 10 minutes after we did. Where did you go?"

"Umm…" Sarada hesitated and swallowed discretely. "I was… with Kakashi-sensei and Konohamaru-sensei," she tried to lie as best she could. "They told me stories about Konoha, how things were back then during his time, the Uchiha clan in the past before its downfall, and then… some matters related to being the Hokage."

Sumire smiled. "You really are committed to that goal, aren't you? Sarada Uchiha, Lady Eighth… wait no, Lady Ninth Hokage, since Konohamaru-sensei technically was Eighth Hokage for a day. Does that even officially count?"

Sarada nodded. "Still counts."

Meanwhile, Wasabi stared suspiciously back at Sarada due to her apparent uneasy tone. "Like what things? I mean, what things did they teach you about being the Hokage?

Sarada's heart skipped a beat. She was being caught in her own lie. "They taught me… umm… well, if somehow the Second Hokage ever came back to life, I better show him that an Uchiha can be a true Hokage!"

"Right, because he hated the Uchiha clan…" Sumire remembered her Land of Fire History. However, Wasabi's eyebrows were still raised in doubt.

"What is it, Wasabi?" Sarada asked somewhat nervously.

"Nothing…"

Sarada took that as a chance to escape Wasabi's scrutiny. "You two, try to get some sleep too, okay? Especially you, Wasabi! At least Sumire and I have slept for around three hours already."

"It's not as if I'm staying awake on purpose," Wasabi rolled her eyes. "If only Namida was here… She could sing her First Fonic Hymn and send us all right to sleep again."

"I still can't fully understand how that form of sound style works," Sarada admitted. "I'd love to study it more when we get back to Konoha. I'm sure you would too, Sumire. You're the real scientist among us three."

Sumire laughed. "I may be a scientist, but I don't think I'm a nerd. That would be Denki."

The three girls giggled crazily. "Even if you were secretly the nerdy type," Sarada pointed out, "I'm sure you would still come off as badass too."

"A scientist-kunoichi combination is badass in my opinion," Wasabi agreed. "Brains and brawn is always a great combination to have."

After a bout of giggling, Sumire continued. "But I am curious about Sound Style too. I hope Orochimaru, Denki, and Namida work together to reveal more secrets behind the Sound Style… their so-called Seventh Fonon, the forgotten element…"

"Namida… I hope she pulls through," Wasabi wished, the worry clear in her voice.

"I'm sure she will," Sarada reassured her. "Sometimes she may not look like it, but she's a real fighter."

"You're right with that one," Sumire affirmed. "Namida will keep fighting. And with you by her side, she'll make it through anything."

"Thanks you two…"

"No problem."

The three kunoichi lay silently on Sarada's bed for a few minutes, passing the time in each other's love and warmth and company, before Sarada sat up again. "I'll take a walk around the courtyard first for some fresh air," she told her two friends. "Hopefully I'll get tired or drowsy, and it'll be easier to sleep."

The three kunoichi stood up from Sarada's bed. Sumire and Wasabi groggily walked over to their beds, while Sarada headed for the door. "I'll see you guys soon. Sleep well."

"Come back soon," Sumire reminded her, "and hopefully we all get to sleep some more."

Sarada walked through the dim hallways, illuminated only every so often by white electric lights that Denki and Iwabe had installed. After a few minutes of walking through the building, she stepped outside the main doorway into the cold mountain air and felt the fresh, breezy, chilly wind blow into her face.

Looking around the lit courtyard, she saw Udon and Iwabe sitting atop the battlements looking out towards the Feres Pass, with Moegi-sensei manning the lookout tower beside the Hod Gate. She then spotted Boruto standing against the backdrop of stars on the observation platform, and so she slowly made her way towards him.

* * *

_**What do you all think of Chapter 23? Once again, feel free to share your thoughts through comments and reviews and likes and kudos and everything else! I'll be sure to respond to any comments and questions! ^_^**_

_**Sooo... **_

_**1) Team 15 (especially Namida) made it back to Rem Fortress alive!**_

_**2) The defenses on the passes (especially Feres Pass) were overrun, and most of Team 25 captured...**_

_**3) A brutal execution happened, and a super-close vote was cast in favor of continuing the battle...**_

_**4) An escape plan has been formed! ^_^**_

_**5) Sumire writes to pass the time until she gets drowsy and falls back to sleep, because she has insomnia partially due to her currently not-so-perfect mental state.**_

_**Anyway, in next week's Chapter 24: "Somewhere Under The Starry Violet Sky", the storm will arrive and give the Konoha detachment a much-needed reprieve. A lot of really important character interactions will occur here; between Boruto and Sarada, Sarada and Sumire, Wasabi and Shikadai and Denki and Kakashi, Sarada and Sumire and Wasabi, and Boruto and Sumire! It will surely be an emotional chapter! ^_^**_

_**PS: Chapters 24-26 will surely be the most emotionally-charged chapters in the book, and they may just make you cry ='(**_

_**TRIVIA: General An Ver is based on the actual General Fabian Ver, a crony and close ally of Dictator Marcos during Marcos' time in power. He is responsible for many murders and tortures that took place during that era. He is no hero.**_


	24. Somewhere Under The Starry Violet Sky

_**Hello my wonderful readers! Thank you for keeping up with my story! Now I reward you with one of the chapters that I'm most proud of in this entire book! It's one of the longest chapters too, at 11354 words! And the ending scene is so fluffy and sweet! ^_^**_

_**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Four more to go after this one, and all of them will be shocking and emotional chapters, up until the end, whether that end is bitter or sweet. **_

_**As usual, feel free to leave comments and reviews and likes and kudos and favorites and follows and etc! Thank you all so much! I appreciate all of your continued support! =D**_

* * *

**Chapter 24: Somewhere Under The Starry Violet Sky**

A sleepy, groggy, and exhausted Boruto was serving his lookout duties for the night from the Dawn Observation Deck. He checked the time on his phone; it read 7 minutes before 3 o'clock in the early morning hours. He exhaled a sigh, the frost visible from his warm breath. "Dammit… still more than an hour to go."

"You look like you're ready to literally fall asleep."

Boruto turned around to the familiar voice and saw Sarada looking at him with her arms crossed and eyebrow raised. "You're up early," he replied coolly. "What's up?"

"I know. Nothing much." Sarada sat down next to Boruto on the observation deck and watched the stars that had not yet been covered by the nearing storm clouds. "I had a nightmare, and I can't go back to sleep yet. And this view is too memorable to pass up on. So many stars out…"

"Insomnia, huh?" Boruto focused on the storm clouds in the distance. A streak of lightning would ethereally light up the dark grey clouds, and then fade away into nothing, only for another lightning bolt to take its place, and the cycle continued so forth. The wind was acting erratic as well. One moment, it was non-existent; the next moment, it was howling and whipping a bit of snow into Boruto's face. "What is happening to the world?"

"Somehow," Sarada mused, "it feels like our world is both progressing and regressing at the same time. There's so much new technology to help connect us more easily with others, but it can also work to tear us apart with a tap of a finger."

She continued, "Even the advancement of the sciences, of ninja technology, of weaponry… all of them were supposed to make life easier for us to keep the peace in the world, but it's also making it so much easier for people to hurt and kill each other."

"The more things change, the more they stay the same," Boruto summarized. After a brief pause, he looked Sarada in the eyes and told her what he had been reflecting on.

"Someday," he professed to Sarada, "when we're grown up, let's change this country. Let's change this world. Change it so that nobody has to be poor. Change it so that war never has to happen. As your right hand man, I will do all I can to help you achieve these goals."

Sarada stared back at him and nodded. "I'll hold you to that promise, my right hand man… Let's work to change our country and our world, for the rest of our lives, together."

"You bet."

Afterwards, the two shared a long and deep hug. Afterwards, the two lifelong friends committed the rest of their free time stargazing. "I see Orion's Belt," Boruto pointed up towards the starry violet-that-was-almost-black sky, "so that must be Betelgeuse and Rigel close by."

Sarada looked towards him. "Yup. Wasabi taught me that too. She and Namida know their stars-" It was then that Sarada saw a puzzling blot of purple out of the corner of her eye. It was very faint in the darkness of night, but it moved along the outside of the fortress and further up the mountain.

"Is that…? I'm sorry Boruto, I need to go." She was almost entirely sure about who it was, and afraid of what may have happened, Sarada chased after the figure that she saw.

Boruto looked on in confusion. "Wait, what happened?"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Unbeknownst to Boruto and Sarada at the time, Sumire was still suffering from another bout of insomnia that night. While silently tiptoeing by to get some water from the cafeteria, trying her best not to wake anyone else up, she spotted Sarada going up to the observation deck towards what looked to be Boruto, and so she approached them. Once she was within earshot, she overheard their conversation.

_"…__Someday, when we're grown up, let's change this country. Let's change this world. Change it so that nobody has to be poor. Change it so that war never has to happen. As your right hand man, I will do all I can to help you achieve these goals…"_

_"__I'll hold you to that promise, my right hand man… Let's work to change our country and our world, for the rest of our lives, together…"_

The exact moment Sumire heard those words from Sarada, she felt a sudden, painful pang in her chest, as if her heart itself wanted to stop beating for good. She carefully looked around the corner from where she hid, and saw the two of them in a tight embrace. Sarada, who over the long years had become her confidante and her best friend; Boruto, who was constantly her protector, the only one whom she had fallen head over heels in love with, but could never manage to say it to him. Instantly, her chest rose and fell in more pain than she had ever felt before, and her breathing became abnormal in its pacing. She gripped her shirt above her heart and pushed hard against it, trying to stem the pain, but to no avail.

All of a sudden, Sumire opened her quickly tearing eyes and felt like she was drowning under a deep blue ocean of despair, isolation, and loneliness. She reached out in desperation towards Boruto, her main light, but kept drifting ever farther from him.

Before Sumire could regain her focus and decide what she should do rationally, she semi-consciously ran away from the unfolding scene. She had no destination in mind, just anywhere but there. She thought she passed through the Feres Gate and the walls on the side of the Feres Gate and Pass, but she could no longer be sure, since everything around her was blurry from the cold falling snow, the tears streaking down her warm cheeks, and the pulsating pain radiating from inside her chest.

In the dark of the night, with only the near-half moon as her light, she trekked up the snowy slopes of the mountain. She did not fully know the reason why she was climbing Mount Tirad, but her mind was now drawn to, if not obsessed with, the summit. Her body was acting on its own, as opposed to the day before when her old Shigaraki alter ego merely ordered her what to do for the time-manipulation jutsu.

The bitterly cold, snowflake-filled wind grew fiercer, and the air thinner, as she climbed higher and higher, but it had no deterring effect on her. The chill battered her face and stung her eyes, but she pressed onwards and upwards. As a child, she ran and stayed under the cold and unforgiving rains of Ame, so she was used to freezing cold water splashing and on her face. It also helped that she could not think or focus on any one thing at the moment, other than climbing, because of what she had just heard and seen. Nor could she feel anything aside from her pain, anger, and depression.

After an hour of clambering up the solid bands of stone and couloirs of snow, she came upon what she had initially thought was the summit of Hod. But when she set foot on it, she saw that there was yet a higher spire to the north that rose elegantly about a thousand feet above her current southern summit. Between the two peaks was a Knife-Edge summit ridge made of age-old, wind-weathered rocks, as well as old compacted snow. Her mind registered a hint of fear as she looked over the ridge. Three steps left of center of the ridge was a 3000-foot drop to the Land of Earth, and three steps right of center was a 2000-foot drop to the Land of Rain.

Sumire looked on from the lower south summit, breathless and cold, and she momentarily entertained the thought of stopping there and turning back. However, something inside herself pushed her on. Something inside her kept attracting her to the peak, as if someone or something important to her was waiting for her there at the summit. Despite all the red flags warning her not to, and an eerily familiar female voice seemingly screaming for her not to go any further, Sumire still pressed forward and tackled the knife-edge ridge. She clung to the old permanent snow cornices that capped the rocky ridge like a wavy pathway; the snow cornice formations, even though tilted to the west and literally overhanging the rocky edge due to the prevailing wind, was more than stable enough due to having long been buffeted and compacted by the ever-present gusts at that altitude. Sumire traversed the narrow ridge within about 45 minutes, and was stopped at the last true obstacle, a sheer 10-meter high vertical rock step at the end of the ridge.

"One last obstacle," she muttered as she evaluated the challenge that lay in front of her. Determined beyond reason to make it to the true summit, she approached it slowly, examining its characteristics, and spotted a small crack in the massive icy boulder before her, a split less than a meter wide at its narrowest, but wide enough to let Sumire fit and climb. She concentrated most of her chakra to her hands and feet to keep herself attached to the ice on the side, and she additionally used the hardened snow to keep herself balanced to ensure she did not slip and fall. Climbing through the crack in the sheer rock face to ascend, she scrambled over the final step, crawled forward on the off-white snow, and lifted her head to see a welcome sight. The summit of Mount Tirad looked to be only a stone's throw away along the crest of the ridge that did not seem to offer any more major obstacles in her way. The final stretch was much wider than the ridge she had just traversed; the overhangs of snow were much less intimidating, and the slope much gentler.

She rested on the top of that Final Step for a long while and gasped to breathe, trying to absorb what little oxygen there was at her altitude to replenish her lungs' supply. Once again, she heard that eerie feminine voice calling out her name, and this time she could have sworn that it was not from inside her head, but instead from behind and below her. However, when she turned around, a thick cloud passing by worsened the darkness and limited her visibility to less than twenty meters down. Upon seeing nothing, Sumire thought the voice was coming from inside her head again, and that she might be going insane from either the emotional pain and despair she felt at the moment, or the shortage of breathable oxygen, or a combination of both, so she resumed her climb to the top.

As she inched closer and closer to the summit, she felt as if time was slowing down for her once again, that each pace and each step she made took roughly double or even quadruple the time it would usually take to step forward, although she had read before that this would be a normal side-effect of the lack of oxygen at high-altitude mountain peaks. It felt like time was going half as fast as it should be. The wind picked up speed while she was halfway on the summit ridge, blasting a purely white cloud of snowy air over the ridge's crest, and creating a magnificent visual of a translucent white mist billowing upwards into the air and down into the black abyss below. Gradually, the upward angle of the snowy sloping ridge became shallower and shallower, until the ridge itself led no further upwards.

Sumire finally staggered onto the summit of Mount Tirad as the dawn colors had painted the formerly black night sky, and almost immediately she fell to her knees and broke down in tears. Her feelings of fear, anxiety, pain, rage, frustration, jealousy, hatred, self-loathing, and betrayal, all bottled up inside, made her chest feel that it was soon going to burst. She pounded and punched the hard snow beneath her, and she sobbed and screamed out loud, trying to release all the unpleasant emotions in her. This went on for entire minutes on end, yet the rage and bitterness seemed to only grow worse. The dark aura surrounding her had become even darker than pitch-black. The familiar voice she kept hearing echoed in her ears, and it only got louder every time it repeated. She desperately tried to cover her ears, and she screamed even more violently to block it out of her head.

Suddenly, something gently tackled Sumire from behind, and she felt soft, delicate hands rubbing her back and embracing her from behind. "Shh... Sumire… what's wrong?"

Taken by surprise that someone was really up there at the summit with her, Sumire turned her teary-eyed face enough to see Sarada's gentle, concerned, caring expression. Instinctively, she buried her face on Sarada's shoulder, and she gripped her in a bear hug, which Sarada soon reciprocated. "I'm so sorry…"

Sarada wiped away the tears from Sumire's eyes and cheeks with her red and white handkerchief. "Why did you go all the way up here? Why are you crying? What's there to be sorry about? …Please Sumi, you know you can tell me anything."

Sumire continued to shake and sob, so Sarada decided not to press with her question. "You know," she diverted the topic as she stroked Sumire's hair, "I kept calling out your name a while ago. I was asking you to stop climbing and come back down to the fortress with me, since it was dark and cold and quite windy. I was worried you were going to slip and fall, and maybe injure yourself. But every time I called your name, you seemed to climb even faster, like you were trying to run away and avoid me."

Sumire released Sarada from her death grip and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Wait, that was you?"

"Yes you dummy!" Sarada laughed heartily while moving about to sit beside her.

"I honestly thought I was going crazy, hearing familiar voices from nowhere calling out my name."

"Wait, you thought ghosts were haunting you? In that case, shouldn't you have gone back down instead of up?"

"Honestly," Sumire admitted, "I'm not even sure if I know why I went here to the summit… Although, I did need to escape the base for a while."

"I can see why you did," Sarada reasoned. "I'll be honest, even I needed this too. It's been so tense in the fortress over the past days, and we really need times like these to relax and unwind."

"That's not exactly what I was referring to…" Sumire trailed off and left her explanation unfinished because the first rays of the sun peeked over the far horizon. "That is beautiful…"

"It is…" Sarada agreed, and the two best friends shared a moment looking at the wondrous dawn progressing. Meanwhile, Sumire summoned Nue, who initially ran around and explored the cold snow, and then afterwards settled down between the two girls.

As the scarlet sun slowly rose over and turned more yellow, the first light of the new day gradually spread across the land, and it illuminated the green flatlands of the Land of Grass, the blue pristine river splitting Kusa in two, the brown desert and red mesa of the Earth Nation, and the other snowcapped peaks of the Land of Rain's Windward Range, all spread out before them.

"This is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen," Sumire sighed contentedly, with a semblance of a smile now on her face.

Sarada nodded. "For sure! Out of all the sunrises I've seen in my life, this one takes the cake."

Yet to the southeast, the dark storm clouds that Sarada and Boruto had observed were closing in on them, and the rumble of thunder was now faintly audible. "We should get back soon," Sarada remarked. "The storm will be here, and it'll likely come before midday."

However, before Sarada could stand, Sumire grabbed her hand and gripped it. Sarada noted the slight tremor Sumire's hand had at the moment.

"I've been asking myself… ever since my birthday," Sumire revealed to Sarada. "Why was I born? Who am I? Why am I alive?"

Sarada sat there, surprised at what Sumire was thinking about. "So this is what has been bothering you?"

"That's not all of it… but it's a large chunk of it."

Sarada shifted and faced Sumire directly. "Is this about some people in Konoha hating you because of who you are? Or who your parents were? They don't even know what your father put you through and forced you to do!"

When Sumire gave no reply, Sarada continued. "Sumire, listen to me. If those people in Konoha can't accept you, the fault lies with them, not you."

"I'm not so sure about that," Sumire closed her eyes and let her feelings out. "Sometimes, I just feel that life would be so much better and easier for all of you if… if I was never born." Sarada's breath hitched rather loudly, but she let her best friend continue. "Or if I had just died that night all those years ago, when I attacked Konoha with Nue. Or if I had died some more years back when my father beat me and smashed my face up against the wall in one of his many drunken rages."

"I don't agree with any of that, not one bit," Sarada gave her opinion while holding Sumire's hand tightly. "But it doesn't matter anyway. Hypothesizing about not having been born, or about dying earlier in life, is just meaningless. You're living your own life, your own experiences that only you know, and your own feelings that only you feel. Don't deny them."

Sumire reflected upon her friend's words. "I suppose you're right. Even though I think about it sometimes, it's not as if I can change the past, nor would just thinking about dying affect my situation now."

"Please Sumi," Sarada pleaded with her. "Let's both make it through this alive, and together make Konoha better." Slowly, and with great care, she wrapped her arm around Sumire's shoulder. _"Let's work to change our country and our world, for the rest of our lives, together."_

Sumire stopped short of replying, as she noticed that those words were familiar. _'Wait a minute,'_ she asked herself, _'Weren't those… the very words that Sarada had just told Boruto?'_

"Are you okay, Sumi?" Sarada asked, noticing her friend's suddenly sullen reaction. "Tell me what's hurting you…"

"I… I have feelings for Boruto," Sumire replied. "I'm in love with him, Sarada… I love Boruto-kun… You know that by now, don't you?"

Sarada smiled genuinely. "If I somehow didn't know for these past few years that you've fallen head over heels for Boruto," she chuckled, "could you even call me your best friend?"

"That's not the point, Sarada," Sumire continued sullenly and seriously. "I promise that I won't interfere with your relationship with Boruto. Even if it's the very last thing I want to do… you got to Boruto before I did… so I'll leave him alone for you to have. I don't want to fight you for him… It will only hurt the three of us… I don't want to lose you too…"

Sarada stared at her, her head slightly tilted sideways, eyebrows furrowed, eyes partially squinted, mouth agape, and her face showing complete confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

Sumire sighed and quoted Sarada, "Let's work to change our country and our world, for the rest of our lives, together."

It was then that all the pieces suddenly fell into place in Sarada's head. "_First, Sumire ran away after my conversation with Boruto. Second, her thought process must be in turmoil because of feelings of heartbreak and hopelessness. And last, her quoting my words, the words I had also uttered to Boruto, and knowing their significance… Ohh. I get it._"

"Wait just a second! Sumire, you have it all wrong! I now understand that you overheard our conversation. But I promise you Sumire: Boruto and I are not… together, or anything like that. I only meant those words as partners, teammates, and friends. Like, umm, how Lord Seventh and my dad are. Nothing more than that, I swear."

Sumire gasped and kept staring at Sarada, her mouth wide open in shock. Tears streamed down her face again, but this time they were tears of relief and utter happiness. She hugged her best friend. "Please Sarada, keep it this secret from everyone else for now, especially from Boruto. I don't want him to find out yet… I'll be the one to tell him. Promise me that you will."

"I promise I'll keep it a secret," Sarada wrapped her arm Sumire's shoulders. "Though speaking of secrets," she then revealed, "I know what you've been hiding from everyone…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Where are they?" Boruto worriedly wondered as he waited for Sarada and Sumire to come back to the fortress. "The storm's already here…"

It was now past 9 in the morning, yet the sun was nowhere in sight. The blackened sky above had just started precipitating a few minutes ago, yet with each passing second the chilling mixture of rain, snow, and wind, grew fiercer and more wrathful. Thunderclaps became louder, and the intense flashes of lightning more frequent. Along the highest slopes of the mountain, where Boruto was scouring for any sign of his two closest female friends, the clouds had set in and visibility had dipped drastically. He thought he saw flashes of red and purple nearing the fortress, but with the rain and snow and cloud obscuring his view, there was no way he could be sure that his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

"Only one way to find out." Boruto inhaled deeply and activated his Jougan. With his special eye, he was able to see two distinct chakra signatures slowly and carefully heading down towards him. They were within two hundred meters away, but given the cautious pace they were descending at, it could take them another fifteen to twenty minutes to reach the safe shelter of the fortress. "Sarada! Sumire!" Boruto shouted at the top of his lungs, straining his voice to keep it audible in spite of the worsening weather.

Both of the chakra signatures stopped and shouted back simultaneously, "Boruto-kun!"

"Keep making your way down! And be careful!"

"We will," Boruto heard the distinctly sweet and gentle voice of Sumire reply. "You guys stay safe too! Now please, go on ahead inside! And keep yourself warm, okay?"

"I'll wait for you guys in the map room then," Boruto informed the two. "Kakashi organized a meeting with everyone who can physically go."

"Tell him we'll be there soon," the firmer, slightly deeper, and more serious voice of Sarada rang out.

Satisfied, Boruto started to go back to safety of the rocky shelter, but bursts of lightning startled him before he could take another step. The winds were now strong, and the intermixed rain and snow intensely pelting his face, numbing it to the cold. Boruto felt the air moving as one unseen force that was trying to sweep him off his feet, blow him over the walls, and over the edge of the Sheltered Col. Looking around, he saw the watery snow slowly building up on the courtyard of the fortress. Nearby in their one-room shed, the eight asylum-seekers from the Land of Earth were huddling together and eating the warm and scrumptious food that Iwabe had cooked for them. They were also mopping out the snowmelt that had come through their doorway and open windowsill.

Denki's electrical generator, which was located inside the small stone building on the far side of the courtyard from where Boruto stood, was still churning out enough power to supply the entire fortress and keep everyone inside alive, even somewhat comfortable. Meanwhile, the shed right beside it contained all the weapons and munitions they collected from the enemy dead two days ago. They had dumped all of them there hoping that both Sumire and Denki could further study the new weapons and technology in their spare time, but that was not looking likely anytime soon. So instead, Denki promised to select a few guns and bullet types later that night, place them inside his special Kaminarimon Company-produced storage scrolls, and bring them home to Konoha to study them in his lab.

After a while of observing his chaotic surroundings, Boruto walked back into the main building and went into the map room, where almost every able-bodied person in the fortress was gathering. Kakashi had summoned everyone to an important briefing, the topic of which he did not specifically say. However, Shikadai had in fact told Boruto the night before about the escape plan that they brainstormed, so Boruto figured that this meeting would be about their withdrawal from Mount Tirad and its passes.

"Boruto!" Shikadai called out from the other side of the busy room. "Have you seen Sarada and Sumire yet?"

"They're making their way down from the peak now," Boruto replied and took a seat at the table. Iwabe placed a plate of fresh hot sausages and scrambled eggs in front of him. "They should be here within 15 minutes."

"Why'd they even go to the summit?" Inojin asked. "They knew that the storm was coming soon, didn't they? Why risk it?"

"They probably just needed to clear their heads," Shikadai responded to Inojin. "No need to make an issue out of it. All of us here need to clear our heads and rest as well."

"As long as they come back safely, I'm not going to be angry at them." Everyone looked at Konohamaru. "But they still should have informed us before going."

"Before she left, Sarada told me she was going after someone who was heading up the mountain. It turned out that that someone was Sumire," Boruto spoke after chewing and swallowing his food. "Ughhh, I need more sleep. I'm exhausted from staying up all night."

Denki nodded to the part regarding Sumire with a hint of a frown, which told Shikadai and Iwabe that he knew something about what was going on. So Iwabe asked both Boruto and Denki, "Any idea why Sumire left in the first place?"

Boruto quickly shook his head before scooping another bite. Hesitating for a second, Denki followed Boruto's example. "No, not really…"

After Boruto finished his food and handed his plate off to Iwabe, the door opened again. Kakashi entered with Moegi, Udon, Hanabi, and Wasabi in tow. "Is everyone here now?" Kakashi leaned on the table with the colored topographic model of Mount Tirad that Denki had made through 3-D printing. "Not including any of the wounded, by the way."

"Sumire and Sarada will be here very soon," Boruto informed Kakashi. "Aside from them, I think we're as complete as can be."

"We can afford to wait for them then."

While waiting for the last two kunoichi to arrive, Boruto and Shikadai approached Wasabi and asked her, "How is Namida doing?"

Wasabi looked at Boruto, obviously worried, and also somewhat deep in thought. "She's still in critical condition, but she's alive… We surgically operated on her and got those bullets out, but we need to get her down to Ame soon…"

"I'm sorry about my part in this," Shikadai bowed his head in remorse. "If I hadn't issued that order to break formation, Namida would be fine now."

Wasabi shook her head. "Then we would have ended up with Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Inojin, dead or captured. We knew what we were doing, and we accepted the risk. I may be angry, but I don't hold you to blame. I-"

Wasabi was interrupted when Sarada and Sumire burst in through the door, a rush of freezing cold air following them inside. "We made it!"

"Sumire!" Boruto rushed to her side and hugged her. The others followed him and crowded around Sumire, who began to panic. "Why did you just leave like that? You worried me a lot."

"Everyone, get away from her!" Sarada had Sumire's back as she warded the others off. "Nothing bad happened. We just had a conversation, one that will stay between us alone… and the best sunrise we've ever seen! We took so many pictures of it."

"Here," Sumire mentioned as she pulled out her phone and showed Boruto and the others the pictures that Sarada had talked about. The others gasped and crowded around when Sumire showed them the pictures she took. There were some photos of the sunrise on the summit, as well as several selfies with her and Sarada posing in front of the red rising sun. There were also some showing the sloping knife-edged ridge, the snow being blown and billowed out above the ridge high into the air by the strong winds, and even the topside of the gray storm clouds that were now on top of them.

After a while, Kakashi cleared his throat, and the room fell quiet once again. "Now that everyone is here, we can begin." Everyone in the room took their seats at the long stone table, with only Shikadai and Kakashi standing beside Denki's 3-D model. "As you all know, our position here is untenable. Even with this fortress, we cannot hope to last much longer if we stay here. So Sarada, Sumire, and I planned this escape."

He pointed to Rem Fortress on the Sheltered Col, symbolized by a brown square shaped object with a flag. "Now according to Denki's last forecast, the eye of this supertyphoon will pass directly over us, going approximately northwest. We don't know what the exact trajectory is, nor do we know the exact speed; all we know for sure is that the eye wall will pass over us and there will be a temporary calm in the weather, the exact duration of which we don't know either."

"It could last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours," Denki added as he looked to his friends. "And the calm of the storm's eye was predicted to reach us tomorrow afternoon, but that's provided the storm hasn't sped up or slowed down or deviated too much from the last forecast."

"Isn't that time period way too short?" Wasabi voiced her concerns. "We climbed up the mountain in more than 7 hours, and that was when we were all still fresh and healthy. We have lots of wounded with us, some of them critically. There's also lots of equipment to carry down, and we're all very tired, so there's just no way we can make it down the mountain to Spur town in that short time."

"You're right Wasabi," Shikadai replied. "We won't make it down the mountain in two hours. If we're lucky, we can make it halfway, then hunker down for a while and wait out the storm. But at least we won't have to fend off another Earth Army assault on the fortress."

"On that subject," Kakashi took over, "the Earth Army Forces won't launch an assault while the weather is this bad. They'll risk too many men to avalanches, snow blindness, and hypothermia. But they might attack when the calm comes in, so I suggest that we buy ourselves more time."

"We thought about that last night too," Shikadai continued the explanation and pointed at the colored 3-D model, "and we decided on a barrier trap. We can blow up the Sephiroth Pillars at the narrowest neck of the Hod Pass. Once we bring down the rock pillars on both sides, the resulting rockslide will block the enemy from using the pass effectively, and it will hinder their advance into the Land of Rain for a while longer. Also, we will only spring the trap it once everyone passes though. No one is going to be left behind, got it?"

"I have a plan on how to bring them down without anyone having to exert much energy or chakra," Denki spoke. "But for it to work, we might need someone to climb all the way up to the top of the spires."

"I can do that," Wasabi volunteered, "but the winds are growing vicious now-"

"Of course, not right now!" Denki clarified, shaking his hands in front of his chest. "Not while the supertyphoon is here! We'll set the explosive trap up once the winds die down a bit."

"After triggering the rockslide," Shikadai concluded, "the only thing we have to focus on is everyone here making it down this mountain alive."

*******XXXXXXX*******

The skies above the fortress, which were already extremely dark gray in the middle of the morning, had become pitch black when night came. The rolling, roiling clouds covered the entire expanse of the sky and blocked out the moon and the stars. The wilding winds were now buffeting the fortress and blowing the chilly air through what gaps it could into the stone buildings, such as doorways, corridors, and windows. The only lights that could be seen outside in the courtyard were the electric lampposts that were now dim yellow in the storm, as well as two small wooden fireplaces in the shelter of the covered guard towers, where the lookout shift made up of Konohamaru, Hanabi, Udon, and Moegi, was all huddling around. Inside the rooms of the fortress, most of the group laid asleep, but not everyone.

In the large bedroom where the young men slept in, Denki was wide-awake on his mattress. He was leaning against the cold wall while reading previously saved scientific articles and running simulations on his laptop. Looking at the time and seeing that it was past 9, he decided to take a short break from his readings to rest his mind, he looked around at his dear friends, although the room was quite dark since no light was coming in from outside, save for the occasional lightning bolt. Boruto was lying face down and snoring loudly on his mattress, as he had been for the past seven or eight hours. Shikadai and Inojin were both peacefully sound asleep with their blankets pulled over their heads, while Mitsuki stared blankly at the ceiling while talking in a soft voice to a white snake that served as a secure phone. Denki knew that it had to be Orochimaru on the other side of the line. And beside him to his left, Iwabe slept with the red cloth he usually wore on his head now covering the top of his face, as if it was a sleeping mask.

Denki yawned and noticed the white frosty breath from his mouth. To warm himself, he stood up, walked out of the room, and leaned on the railing of the corridor. He looked around his reddish-brown stone surroundings, and he saw Kakashi on the floor below, sitting near the fireplace. Kneeling down gently so that the Lord Sixth Hokage would not notice his presence, Denki zoomed in his high-tech glasses and saw that Kakashi was absolutely absorbed in reading his new erotic novel, which Denki was surprisingly familiar with. "Domestic Girlfriend," Denki whispered as he read the colored front page of Kakashi's new manga, "Chapters 113-120…"

Denki silently chuckled. "I just love reading that series in my spare time," he muttered to himself, "and those chapters were some of the best in the entire, still-ongoing series. Though I'm at Chapter 216 now, and I'm still hoping that Natsuo and Rui will get back together… and do it again like it those chapters he's reading now… hehee…" After letting his memory wander with his favorite fictional couple, he stealthily snuck back into his room before he could alert Kakashi of his presence.

"I should get some sleep soon," Denki muttered as sat back down on his mattress and focused on his computer screen. "As soon as I finish analyzing the data from Sumire's medical examination and writing my observations. Hmmm… Rapid Atom and Fonon Dissociation…"

Next door in the women's bedroom, Wasabi slowly woke up and stretched her limbs while adjusting her cat-eyes to the darkness around her. Next to her, she saw Sumire tossing and turning, tormented in her sleep by another nightmare. On the other side of Sumire, Sarada was sleeping peacefully while hugging a long dark blue pillow. All the other beds were unoccupied, and Wasabi's thoughts wandered off to Namida, Chocho, Enko, and Hako, though admittedly most of her thoughts went to her ailing girlfriend. All of them were in the infirmary room, and she, Sarada, and Hanabi were in charge of taking care of them and keeping them alive.

Wasabi remembered that tonight's shift should be made of the able-bodied members of Teams 7 and 15, but that would leave no one with sufficient medical experience on hand to help Hanabi if something went wrong, such as the dextrose drips potentially flowing backwards due to high blood pressure, or the oxygen tank for Namida running out of its precious life-saving supply. So she stood up and silently walked out of the room, careful not to disturb her two sleeping friends.

"Kakashi-sensei," she called out to him once she saw him downstairs.

Kakashi turned his attention from his novel, to which Wasabi blushed and looked away from after recognizing the manga as Domestic Girlfriend. She had seen the racy love scenes in it before when she read it together with Namida. "Err… Wasabi, what is it?"

Internally, Wasabi was laughing that she and Kakashi were reading the same racy manga, as if the generational divide between them was actually nonexistent. But she set those thoughts aside for another time. "Kakashi-sensei, I was wondering if I could skip the lookout shift tonight. You see, along with Hanabi-sensei, Sarada and I are the ones in charge of taking care of the wounded, yet both of us are on the shift tonight. If anything bad happens to Namida… or-"

Kakashi raised his palm, signifying that he understood Wasabi's point. "It's okay. I'll give you a pass so you can monitor the conditions of your girlfriend and our other wounded. Though can you remind me, who are in the clinic right now?"

"Namida, Chocho, Metal, Enko, Hako, Houki, and Renga. "

"A lot more wounded than I would like to have," Kakashi commented while looking to his side. "What specific injuries do they have?"

"Namida still hasn't recovered from her bullet wounds… She's still unconscious… Chocho got shrapnel from a bombshell in her chest area, which caused heavy structural damage to her internal organs and her ribcage, but she looks to be recovering and fighting. Still, we're keeping her in a medical coma so she doesn't feel the pain in her chest. On the other hand, Metal and Enko both have injuries to their legs, though Enko's isn't anywhere near as bad as Metal's. Still, Metal insists on walking on his own power, even though his shinbones might snap into pieces again if stressed. Hako had a bullet wound to her right shoulder, while Houki and Renga have lacerations and deep flesh wounds."

"We'll need to assist them during the descent, and for some people, we'll even need to carry them down the mountain…"

"Namida and Chocho for sure. Metal, most probably, since his tetanus infections is making his muscles spasm uncontrollably. Enko might need more assistance, but she and Hako and the other two can be supported by their shoulders." Kakashi nodded and thanked her, so Wasabi left and rushed to the infirmary.

Meanwhile, Kakashi analyzed all the factors affecting their plan. "The wounded will slow down our escape," a stressed Kakashi groaned to himself, "and we have such a limited time window. Furthermore, we don't even know for sure exactly when the storm's eye will pass over us. It might be early tomorrow morning, late tomorrow night, or even two days from now, depending on how much the storm slowed down from Denki's last weather update… Dammit, so many variables are in play…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

_"__Sumire-dear…"_

Sumire woke up to Nue's voice, and saw that a thick indigo-hued haze surrounded her. The ground she was stepping on wasn't even solid, but rather what seemed to be water. She looked behind her and saw Nue prowling about.

"A dream?" She asked her special summoning creature.

"Yes, this is your dream. But this is also me really talking to you inside your dream, not something your mind is making up."

Sumire nodded and clambered onto Nue's furry back, hugging it as tight as she could. "I miss this."

"Settle down now," Nue answered. "I still have to teach you in the few hours we have here."

Sumire was confused. "You're going to teach me? I thought I was going to be able to rest for a few hours."

"No need to fret. Your body will be able to rest and recuperate. You're only dreaming, after all."

"I meant resting my mind as well," Sumire clarified and huffed tiredly before putting on a smile. "But since we're here already, let's go on."

"I'll focus on two important things. The rest, even I'm not familiar with yet, so we need to do more research on your summoning seal."

"What two things are you going to teach me about?"

"Of course, the first one is _'Annihilation'_, the lesson we left off from last time. It's only to be used as a last resort anyway, so don't dwell on it."

As Nue has expected, Sumire tensed and gritted her teeth in response. But surprisingly to him, she reluctantly nodded afterwards. "Might as well learn about it now… But I do have a question… Is the second lesson about time control?"

Nue shook its fluffy head. "I'm afraid not. That's the part I was referring to, the part that even I don't know much about yet. I am aware that you were able to perform it, and I'm so amazed that you were able to. But I don't know anything about how it works, or what its exact mechanisms, inputs, and outputs are. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Sumire replied. "But what is the other ability you were talking about?"

"It's a jutsu that can focus and segregate your normal chakra and your negative chakra. That will allow you to unlock and use other more devastating jutsus, like Annihilation, and that time-manipulation jutsu you and… your other you… performed yesterday. So if you want to study the time control, or whatever it's called, jutsu more with your Shigaraki persona, this is how you can do it without her having to control and organize your chakra. I'd call it… 'Innocent Shine'."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Sarada stirred from her sleep due to the commotion inside the room.

_"__Eeeep! Stop it! Wasabi!"_

_"__Come on Sumire, I want to see them, hehehe… please?"_

_"__Please… get off me, Wasabi! Don't… Please, you're going to wake Sarada up!"_

_"__It's almost time for your shift anyway! Get ready already."_

Sarada asked in a weak voice, "What's going on here?" She opened her eyes and saw Sumire and Wasabi staring back at her while tussling with each other in a comically compromising position. Wasabi was hunched over Sumire and attempting to grab hold of something. Sumire, who was on her side, was keeping her arms close to her chest. She held her yellow notebook in her hands, and she was squirming underneath from getting squished under Wasabi. With the dim, moody lighting the nearby table lamp provided, it made for an awkward visual for the three of them.

Sarada playfully raised her eyebrow at Wasabi. "I thought you already have Namida? And you already know that Sumire is gunning for Boruto too! I didn't know you had promiscuity in you, tsk tsk tsk…"

"Excuse me," Wasabi retorted with sass. "I'm not flirting with Sumire. I just want her to show us what she's been working on for hours."

"Just so you know," Sumire crawled out from under Wasabi and settled down beside Sarada, carefully putting her notebook and fountain pen beside the two of them. "I've only been awake since 10 o'clock for this."

Sarada reached out to the phone at her bedside, and upon pressing its home button it displayed 11:36 pm. "Geeez, you've spent more than an hour and a half writing? Wasabi's right, I'm interested in seeing it now."

Sarada tried to touch the notebook, but Sumire swiped it away and stuck out her tongue to Sarada. "Just some writing in spare time. I told you before, I find writing to be a good way to express and release the feelings still bottled up inside me. Remember what you called writing before? _'A reflection of one's karma?'_ or something like that?"

"I'm pretty sure I said that it was _'a reflection of one's feelings'_," Sarada amended, "but close enough. By the way, _'the reflection of karma' _thing was what we discussed awhile ago back at the summit, remember?"

Wasabi teased Sumire and nudged her with her elbow. "So you're writing about Boruto?"

Sumire unconsciously corrected her, "I'm writing to Boruto, not about Boruto."

Only then did those words actually register in her brain, and she panicked, her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. "HAWAWAWAWAWA HAWAWAWAWAWA! NO, JUST NO! I AM NOT WRITING TO BORUTO!"

Wasabi and Sarada laughed loudly and uncontrollably, rolling in their beds and kicking high into the air. After a brief period of slight gloominess, Sumire joined her two close friends in laughter. "What made you say it was about Boruto?"

"You mentioned a reflection of karma, and I know that Boruto has his karma seal, so I just assumed that you were talking about that."

"That's actually wrong," Sumire chuckled while she elaborated further. "It just meant that I express my feelings and thoughts in my writing, and it involves a lot of introspection. I look back to the past, what I felt, what I did for others, what others did for me, what it all means for my karma-"

"Enough about that though!" Wasabi mock-pleaded with Sumire, "Will you let us see your love letters to Boruto? Please!"

"They're not really love letters, they're more like poems or lyrics to future-songs… And there not all addressed to Boruto either!"

"WHAT?" Wasabi continued to tease her and egg her on. "You have other crushes you want to confess to?"

Sarada fake-gasped while snorting and patting Sumire on the shoulder. "One at a time, Sumire! One at a time!"

Sumire felt slightly discouraged, but quickly stumbled upon the best rebuttal ever. "Well, one of my poems is for you," Sumire sultrily winked towards Sarada, whose jaw dropped to the floor at the sudden change in her purple-haired friend's demeanor.

"Sumi…" Sarada unexpectedly blushed, her still-half-asleep brain concluding that Sumire also had a crush on her. "I… didn't know…"

"But as I just said, they're not really love letters." Sumire raised two fingers in a sign of peace, yet stuck out her tongue ever so slightly.

Sarada didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or of disappointment towards Sumire's clarification. "I wouldn't really be that averse to living together with you," Sarada seemed to admit, though her smirk and her playful voice indicated that she was not entirely serious either. "I mean, I know that you're completely devoted romantically to Boruto, but if he mistreats you, know that you can come over and live with me!"

"Sarada… I… uh-"

"In return, I can be set up for life with your huge cash reserves at Konoha Metro Bank!"

Wasabi howled loudly, and there was a chance that she woke up not only the boys in the other room but even those sleeping in the infirmary, which she was taking a break from watching over.

"Don't deny it Sumire!" Sarada kept up her teasing assault. "I know that when you were working under Katasuke, even as an intern, you were paid twice as much as we were! And I know you saved most of your salaries back then!"

"Sarada!" Wasabi fake-grappled with her close friend, shaking her back and forth by the shoulders. "I never knew you were such a gold digger! How could you?"

"Think about it though," Sarada went on in between fits of giggles. "I'll be so set up for life, I won't even have to take a lot of money when I become Lady Ninth Hokage! Instead, I'll give most of the money I earn from being Hokage to hospitals and the orphanage and the urban and rural poor!"

Sumire rolled her eyes and smiled, while Wasabi walked over and plopped onto Sarada's mattress in between the two other girls. "You must be a millionaire at this point, Sumire! Sarada's right when she said that you don't spend much of your salary at all. Your apartment is simple, your food not that high-end, and even your clothes aren't that expensive, which I think is good! You live simply and frugally!"

"I bank most of my money," Sumire responded, "and invest the rest that I don't spend in Denki's company and in the Advanced Ninja Technology Company of Katasuke and Akita, both of which are on the upswing right now according to Denki. I invested so that in the future, my family wouldn't suffer the same poverty that I went through when I was a child. At least, that was the plan… On the other hand, if any of you need some money, I can give it to you without much problem! You all are family to me, after all! If ever you two need it, it's in the inner flap of my notebook here. I trust you both, that neither of you will end up making me bankrupt."

After a minute of pleasant and warm silence spent in each other's company, Wasabi pressed once again, "So… can we see your romantic love letters now?"

"Most of them aren't really about the romantic kind of love at all. They're more for saying thanks and telling you how great I always feel when I'm with you all."

"That's really sweet of you," Sarada commented.

Wasabi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'd love to read them soon!"

Sumire assured them, "Once we get back to Konoha, I'll let you guys see it and maybe proofread it too. I'm not done writing anyway."

"I'm sure you're a good enough writer in your own right. You won't need us to proofread your work." Wasabi smiled approvingly before standing up. "I should probably get back to the infirmary. Namida and the others need my attention. I was just taking a 15 minute break to get a quick breather."

"But what about our shift?" Sarada asked in curiosity.

"Kakashi-sensei gave me the all-clear to leave the shift to you four, in exchange for monitoring Namida, Chocho, and the others."

"At least there will be someone to look after them," Sumire reasoned.

"We should be preparing for our lookout duties as well," Sarada reminded Sumire. "We have around 12 minutes left until midnight. And we should make sure that Boruto and Mitsuki aren't late either."

"I saw the two of them still in bed when I passed by their room," Wasabi informed them. "I'll wake them up in a few minutes when I pass by."

Sarada and Sumire both thanked Wasabi, who then left the room. Afterwards, the two kunoichi got dressed in much thicker clothes to ward off the freeing wind chill of the storm outside for the next three hours of their impending early morning lookout shift. They then walked out of their room, through the brownish gneiss bands of rock on the corridors, and outside into the heavily stormy conditions at the fortress courtyard. From the doorway, they were able to see the four senseis, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, and Hanabi, at the corner lookout tower, which provided them cover from the wind chill and a chance for the small campfire to help keep them warm in the cold night.

The painfully cold mixture of relentless water and powdery snow buffeted the fortress and slammed into Sarada and Sumire, stinging the exposed skin on their faces and hands. The fierce storm was now much greater than merely gale-force strength, and the two kunoichi felt like they were being blown back inside the building, so they both pulled themselves out by gripping on the gneiss-colored doorway with one hand while shielding their eyes with the free hand. Looked around the fortress grounds, most of which was covered in blindingly white snow, they saw that the eight captured girls from the Land of Earth were all asleep in their shed, or at least trying to sleep in spite of the raging storm around them.

The four senseis soon climbed down from their corner lookout tower, careful not to slip on the wet staircase and hurt themselves. As they approached the entranceway of the main building, both Boruto and Mitsuki burst out to the courtyard and joined Sarada and Sumire.

"We're not late, are we?" Boruto asked, raising and straining his voice, since the screaming wind was making it difficult to hear and talk to each other. Both of the kunoichi shook their heads simultaneously.

"So I see that the next shift is complete," Konohamaru observed.

Moegi clarified, "Kakashi already informed us about Wasabi. She'll be in charge of treating and looking after our wounded, especially her Namida. So it'll only be you four for this shift."

"Feel free to use the fireplace we made up there in the tower," Udon continued as they walked past. "It's going to get even colder soon."

"And stay out of the wind," Hanabi added, patting both her nephew Boruto and her favorite student Sumire. "Wind chill can be deadly, and you guys might get frostbite if you are exposed to the cold for too long."

The four younger ninjas thanked their senseis and climbed the cold staircase to the watchtower, which overlooked the Spur Trail. Immediately after the four of them reached the ramparts on top of the tall walls, Sarada nudged Sumire gently.

"I'll give you some alone time with Boruto," she whispered into Sumire's ear. "Listen Sumi, you might not get another chance as good as this. Make sure to tell him your feelings, got it?"

Sumire nodded. "I will. I just hope this goes well." Sarada dragged Mitsuki with her to the guard tower at the opposite side of the fortress; it was the same tower that had Iwabe's bridge towards the Dawn Observation Platform, and it also had a good enough view of the approaches to both Feres and Hod Gates. They left Boruto and Sumire next to the makeshift fireplace that Konohamaru and the other senseis had left behind for them to use.

Boruto and Sumire looked on at each other and towards the still-intensifying winds of the supertyphoon bearing down on them. The powerful gusts shrieked and whipped a misty fog of snow and water all around and into the fortress, so nothing could be seen five meters or so into the darkness beyond the lights of the walls. Sumire shivered with Boruto to stave off the cold chilly wind. She poked the flaming lumber surrounded by rocks, spreading the embers and keeping the fire going. But as Boruto observed her, he noticed something about Sumire that he found odd, even concerning.

"Sumire," Boruto noted as Sumire looked up to him. "Your hand is trembling. Is anything wrong?"

"Hawawawa…" Sumire panicked slightly, her frozen breath hovering in the chilly air. "Please don't worry about it. It's just… really cold…"

"You sure?" Boruto scooted over close to her side, placing the palm of his hand at her neck. "Wow, your skin is cold…"

Sumire's face blushed heavily, and her breath was completely stuck inside her lungs. She savored the feeling of Boruto's warm, calloused hand on the tender flesh of her neck, yet she resisted the overwhelming urge to lean even deeper into his touch, afraid that he might get the wrong idea of her intentions. She smiled and softly said, "Your hand… it's so warm…"

Boruto grinned as well, and so he closed the gap between them completely. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her even closer in. "I feel cold too, so let's conserve our heat."

Sumire felt her tomato-red flush spread from her face to the rest of her body. She looked away from Boruto and did everything she could to hide her blush. It took her a long moment, but finally she calmed herself down and assured herself that there was nothing wrong with what was happening. She stopped squirming in Boruto's embrace, and instead spent the next few minutes leaning into him and relaxing her body and her mind.

"Boruto-kun," Sumire wondered aloud, the glow of the dancing fire illuminating her face. "Do you think the forecast Denki got was correct? That the storm's eye will pass over us later on tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure," Boruto replied. "It's likely, but we don't know for sure when it will happen exactly and how long it will last. But once it happens, we'll be prepared to leave Rem Fortress as soon as Shikadai and Kakashi-sensei give the go-signal."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sumire saw Sarada and Mitsuki rekindling the other fireplace at their guard tower. She also witnessed Mitsuki wrapping his snake-like arms around Sarada in an effort to give her additional protection against hypothermia. Once Sarada made eye contact with Sumire, the Uchiha raised her fist in a show of support, with Mitsuki beside her very much confused about her sudden gesture and its lack of context.

However, as Sumire pondered on how she would tell Boruto about her feelings, she noticed that the weather had changed. The deafening howl of the wind was gradually starting to die down. Soon after, the angle that the snow and rain made with respect to the ground had gone from nearly horizontal to nearly vertical in a matter of only a few seconds before finally disappearing altogether. The four ninja on duty exchanged looks of confusion from opposite towers and waited a few more minutes for the storm to pick up once again. But it was a futile wait.

Boruto was shocked. "The eye of the storm's here already? We weren't prepared for the calm to arrive this early." He turned to Sumire. "We have to tell Shikadai and Kakashi. Adjust the plan and move it forward."

Sumire looked over her shoulder once again, and saw Sarada shaking her head and motioning her to stay put. Her words echoed in Sumire's mind. _"Listen Sumi, you might not get another chance as good as this. Make sure to tell him your feelings, got it?"_

"No," Sumire responded to Boruto as she got up on her feet. "Kakashi-sensei and Shikadai and our own senseis are already on it, I'm sure."

While Boruto kept his eyes at her, Sumire strolled onto the open-air pathway on top of the walls between the corner towers, to feel the newfound calm. Enjoying the now-gentle slight breeze, she turned around to face Boruto, her straightened-down violet hair swinging around her and covering half her face. "Come here, Boruto! You'll love the view!"

Boruto smiled happily and approached Sumire, and the two of them sat down on top of the wall. They saw the stars sparkling against the sky that was not fully black but more of a deeply dark violet, and the bright half moon was shining down on them for the very first time that night.

Boruto asked, "Is it already midnight?"

Sumire pulled out her phone from her pocket and checked the time. "Not quite yet."

"Tomorrow…" Boruto trailed off while looking awestruck at the half moon, "I hope we all make it out of this okay."

After a short while of what seemed to Boruto as hesitation from Sumire, she eventually nodded in response. "We will… I just hope my body holds up until then…"

Boruto chuckled. "Aren't we all exhausted? But yeah, I hope for the same thing, you know? We'll need to be in good shape to give it our all tomorrow."

"Today," Sumire corrected him by showing her phone screen. "It just turned midnight."

"Is that right? Well, I wish my body will hold up until later then."

"It will," Sumire, with her sweet and gentle voice, assured him. "Later, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and on and on…"

"What's with you all of a sudden, Sumire?" Boruto glanced sideways at Sumire. He felt something off about her reaction, but he could not pinpoint exactly what.

Sumire returned his look and gazed at him, but for a time stayed silent, since she could not find the words to say. "You've watched me all this time," she finally admitted. "And you've stayed with me all this time too, just like you promised a long time ago when we were still in Nue's first dimension. You never ever left me behind."

"…You idiot…" Sumire's mouth dropped towards Boruto in slight shock, and she felt the urge to panic. It was extremely rare for Boruto to call her that, nor anyone of his close friends for that matter. Well, maybe except for Denki and Mitsuki when it came to socializing, or when Sarada would hit him really hard for a random reason, but other than that, nothing else in particular came to mind. But when she saw his smile, she immediately calmed down and reciprocated a wide grin of her own.

Boruto continued to reassure her, "I'm going to keep watching you, you know? To see you continually grow and mature into a better person. And I'll always stick by your side, just like I promised, you know?"

Sumire then mumbled something else under her breath, which Boruto did not hear or understand. He only caught that the tone sounded sarcastic. "What was that? I didn't hear you, sorry."

"Nothing really…" Sumire chuckled and explained. "Well, it's just that it's so weird. I'm happy right now. I have nice, trustworthy friends… and you too Boruto. So now I can finally…" Sumire paused for a bit to reflect and find the words she truly wanted to say. "I can finally think of myself… as me. No longer as anyone else's weapon or tool for vengeance."

"And keep that identity of yours, your true self, in your heart. Never forget who you are, and how valuable you are to me." Boruto smiled towards Sumire, but then realized just how awkward that sounded, so he added in a hurry, "…and to Sarada and Wasabi and Namida and Mitsuki and everyone!"

Sumire caught sight of his reddening face and fully understood what Boruto meant. "Hawawawa…" she panicked and blushed madly as well.

"This is probably the happiest moment of my life so far," she admitted once she regained some of her normal composure. "It's up there for sure, along with you staying behind and rescuing me back then in Nue's original dimension, our camping and fishing trip at Denki's, giving you inspiration during our graduation exams, and you nearly smothering me to death… you know, after that mob attacked my apartment."

Boruto sighed in happiness and reminisced. "Those were fun times… well, except for that riot at your place… And don't you worry, Sumire. We'll make more of those happy memories once our mission is complete, once this war is over and the world returns to normal."

Sumire looked down and closed her eyes as he said this, so Boruto became more concerned. "What's the matter? Sumire… You don't think we'll survive this escape?"

Sumire's head snapped back up to him, and she quickly shook her head. "N-No! It's not that! I'm just so happy at this very moment… But I feel like I'm being carried away, because everyone else in this fort is suffering. Even the soldiers on the other side are suffering… I just wish I could think this moment wouldn't be one of my happiest… I feel guilty about it…"

"Sumire…" Boruto tried to help her, but he could not find the words.

However, Sumire saw that Boruto was trying to comfort her, and so she cheered up by that alone. "Don't worry about me, I'm okay." The two looked up at the night sky. The stars were twinkling, and the moon illuminated the dark, fast moving clouds throughout the heavens.

After about a minute of quiet, Sumire swallowed and gently nudged Boruto to get his attention. "I've wanted to tell you something," she broke the silence. "Something I've felt for a long time now… but something I could never find the courage to say…"

Suddenly, Boruto felt a blast of nervousness, a rush of blood to his heart and his head, as if his heart skipped a beat. He inhaled deeply to calm himself down, and tried but failed to find out what exactly about this situation was making him this nervous.

"I've told Sarada and Wasabi about this already," Sumire revealed, "and they advised me that I should just tell you. So here goes nothing…"

"Sumire… umm… what is it?"

"Boruto-kun…" Sumire's normally sweet voice was trembling. Her face was now as red as it could physically be. Her eyes were glued to Boruto's. Her breathing had turned erratic. "I… I…"

Sumire then reached out to him in an attempt to grasp his hand, but then she hesitated, and her hand fell back downwards.

"Sumi… Sumire?" Boruto uttered, frozen in place.

Sumire inhaled deeply, clenched her fists, steeled herself, and closed her eyes. In the next fraction of a second, she stepped forward, grabbed Boruto by the shoulders, and opened her two dark violet eyes to gaze on Boruto's light blue eyes.

And then she kissed him.

Boruto was stunned, but he was not at all against it. In fact, it was in this very moment that Boruto realized Sumire's feelings for him were real, and the fact that he was not instinctively ripping himself away from Sumire made him reflect deeply on his own feelings and thoughts for Sumire. In those seconds when their lips were touching, Boruto felt that time seemed to slow down, or even stop. Boruto wondered if this was why he had felt so nervous with Sumire just a few seconds ago, if this was the reason why he valued Sumire above most others, and if this was why he was always happy and determined and invigorated whenever Sumire was near him. His mind continued to wander to the thought that maybe he had also fallen for her, ever so slowly and subconsciously, and that maybe he had already begun to want her for himself without even realizing it.

However, before he could reciprocate or deepen the kiss, Sumire had already separated and distanced herself from him, though Sumire continued to gently hold and feel Boruto's hand with her own.

"I love you… Boruto-kun…" She sheepishly confessed and looked to the side, her tender hands tremulous and shaking. The two stood there looking at each other for seconds on end, their faces flushed red in embarrassment and shock. But before any more words could be said, someone interrupted and called their names.

"Boruto! Sumire! Sarada! Mitsuki!" The two of them looked down at the courtyard at Shikadai who called their attention. "It's time! Pack up, help the others, and let's get the hell out of here!"

Sumire ran past Boruto, rushed down the stairs by the lookout tower, and rushed giddily back into the fort, nearly knocking into Shikadai in the process. Sarada and Mitsuki quickly followed her inside, but not before extinguishing the fire they had restarted. Meanwhile, Boruto stood still as a statue, with a dumbfounded expression on his deeply reddened and almost steaming face.

"Umm… Boruto?" Shikadai waved at him, trying to snap him out of his stupor. "Did you hear me at all? Are you okay over there?"

* * *

_**Now that we're at the end of Chapter 24 (again, four more chapters to go until the end of "A Tale of Grace"!), please tell me what you all thought about it! **_

_**Boruto and Sarada's promise to each other, Sumire's near-heartbreak and subsequent climb, Sumire and Sarada both summiting Mount Tirad and talking it out there, the arrival of the supertyphoon, the escape plan, Denki and Wasabi both catching Kakashi reading another racy manga (XD), Sumire and Wasabi and Sarada being best friends, Sarada and Wasabi being supportive wingmen/best friends and helping Sumire confess to Boruto, and the BoruSumi scene at the very end! ^_^ **_

_**Can anyone guess what Sumire's secret is? You can give your guesses in your reviews or in PM's =D**_

_**However, next week on October 13, 2019, I'll be uploading Chapter 25: "Sacrifices". Just as Murphy's Law states, everything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time it can. Many sacrifices, both as individuals and as a group, will have to be made so that the surviving shinobi and kunoichi from Konoha can escape the Rem Fortress and descend the mountain to the safety of The Land of Rain. Chapter 25 will be even more emotionally charged than Chapter 24 was, albeit for different reasons. **_

_**And then two weeks from now, Chapter 26: "In the Still of the Night", will go up. The wounded and exhausted survivors are scattered along the mountain's slopes. The supertyphoon is bearing down on them with all of its wrath, and the wind is frigidly cold. Those who survived the events of Chapter 25 will have to stick together to weather out the storm. Unfortunately, not everyone will make it through the darkness of the night... =O**_

_**TRIVIA: **_

_**1) I based some of Mount Tirad's characteristics and features on the obviously-real-life Mount Everest, especially the route to the summit which I based on the Southeast Ridge route on Everest (the couloirs, the South Summit, the knife-edge ridge, the final/Hillary Step, and the summit itself)! **_

_**2) When I was younger, I read the best-selling book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer that was about the 1997 Everest disaster. Many of the descriptions I used in this story regarding Mount Tirad (e.g.: the precarious snow cornices on the knife-edge ridge, the plume of snow blown over the narrow ridge, time seeming to move slower near the top due to fatigue and low oxygen levels, etc) were based on what I could remember from that great book ^_^**_

_**3) To calm his nerves and pass the time, Kakashi was reading "Domestic Girlfriend", a manga that I personally love hahaha XD**_

_**It turns out that even Denki, Wasabi, and Namida read that manga too... including the racy scenes... hehehe ;)**_

_**4) The BoruSumi scene was heavily inspired by Tales of the Abyss, specifically the scene where Luke and Tear were alone talking to each other the night before the final battle. I just love those two and their interactions hehee =D**_


	25. Sacrifices

**_Hello everyone! This is LawlessSophie here welcoming you back to another chapter! Thank you all so much for all your continued support! ^_^_**

**_This chapter is the pivotal chapter of the entire book, and along with Chapter 26 serves as the climax of this book. Although of course, this is (at least planned to be) a seven-part series, so the chapters will also serve to build up to the next books! =D_**

**_Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! It's very happy and cheery and hopeful at the start, but it will be very sad and heavy at the end. You may feel really angry at the end too... Fair warning? =(_**

**_As always, if you like the story, please leave comments/reviews, likes/kudos/follows/favorites/subscriptions, etc! It helps me as an author! I love you all! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 25: Sacrifices**

Sumire burst into the bedroom shared by the young kunoichis. She was brimming with so much happiness and pleasant thoughts that she felt like she was going to explode. Seeing that there was no one else inside the room, she twirled giddily and jumped about, plopping onto her mattress and kicking her legs in the air. In the middle of celebrating though, she began to wonder where everyone else was at that particular moment. Sarada would be there soon, and so would Boruto and Mitsuki to help pack up the things for the rest of the boys, but Wasabi was still in the infirmary taking care of Namida, Chocho, and their other wounded friends.

_'__I feel like I've just checked out one of the most important things in my hypothetical bucket list,'_ the thought suddenly occurred to Sumire on its own,_ 'or something like that. I can die now and still be happy for eternity-'_ But she quickly pushed the rogue thought out of her head. "Nope, my life isn't quite fulfilled yet! We still have a long way to go…"

"Are you going to pack up now?" Sumire turned around to see a smiling Sarada entering the room. She did only one more twirl around the room and nodded to Sarada. "Also, let me guess, you finally managed to confess to Boruto?"

For a split-second, Sumire thought of asking whether or not Sarada was actually psychic, but then she realized that a wide grin was plastered onto her face, not to mention the fact that she was spinning around and celebrating like a madwoman. "Yes Sarada! I'm just so happy I got it off my chest already!"

"Tell me more!" Sarada walked towards Sumire and grasped her hands, preparing to join the celebration with her friend. "What did he say?"

"Shikadai interrupted before Boruto-kun could say anything… But I kissed him!"

"I SAW!" Sarada began to shake Sumire playfully and somewhat roughly, but in a good way. "And he didn't push you away, or react violently, or freak out? TELL ME!"

"He didn't! Not at all!" Sumire replied excitedly.

"YES! Sumire! I'm really so happy for you!" The two best friends hugged and giggled gleefully. "Congrats to the two of you! Now, how about let's all bail out of this damn place quickly and return to Konoha?"

Sumire quickly agreed. "I don't have much things to pack," she revealed. "Just this drawstring bag with my three special weapons, and this backpack with everything else that I brought here. How about you, Sarada?"

"I'm almost done fixing up my things too! But I'll need to pack for Chocho and Enko. Then afterwards, I'll help out the others who are setting up the rockslide trap at the Sephiroth Pillars."

"Ohh yeah, Wasabi and I will pack up for Namida and Hako as well."

"But Wasabi needs to be quick," Sarada pointed out. "She and Denki will be the ones in charge of setting up the trap and its trigger mechanism."

"Will that take long? Then tell her I'll be the one to pack up for her and the others!"

Sarada nodded. "About half an hour at most. We really wanted to finish it before the evacuation starts, but the rain and snow was just too much that we couldn't work on it at all."

"So the group's not actually ready to leave yet?" Sumire sat back at the raised granite desk, where her yellow notebook and fountain pain were.

"If you want to keep writing for now," Sarada put her hand on Sumire's shoulder, "go ahead. We're not even close to ready, really. Even if we had formed the trap previously, we still have to gather all the recon data at the observation deck, organize our POW's, and help carry out our wounded, all of which we couldn't do earlier due to the supertyphoon. This evacuation is going to take a while."

Sumire nodded. "I'll start packing for Wasabi, Namida, and Hako after I'm done with this…"

"And I'll pack for Chocho and Enko," Sarada finished the sentence for her. "But first, I'll go outside the fortress and join the others. Denki and Wasabi should soon be preparing the trap at the Sephiroth."

"Wait, if Wasabi's going to help with preparing the rockslide, who will get the wounded ready to be evacuated?"

"Not sure, but I think our senseis are doing that," Sarada speculated while grabbing her flashlight. "Anyway Sumire, just keep writing. I'll get back when they're done, and once I'm back here, then we can finish packing."

Sarada rushed out the door afterwards and bumped into Mitsuki, and the two ran outside. Meanwhile, Sumire opened her notebook once again and turned to the next blank page. "To Boruto…" She said as she wrote, pouring her heart and soul into her writing.

_"__Once, like a dream, you looked at me, and everything felt new. Time slipped away, the past seemed to fade, my hope restored by you. And I know for some, it's temporary, like a shooting star soon out of view. But this will always be, it's my destiny to be in love with you…"_

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Denki," Iwabe asked while the two were rummaging through their belongings in the boys' bedroom, "do you have the explosives?"

"I have some in this storage scroll." Denki tossed the modern-looking scroll towards Iwabe, who caught it with one hand. "We have to go to the Sephiroth soon, so we should pass by the infirmary and bring Wasabi along with us. Also, we'll have to open the Spur Gate to help with the evacuation."

"That reminds me, are you going to leave your generator behind?"

"No. After we finish prepping the rockslide, I'll wait until everyone has their things packed, and until everyone in the infirmary is in a stable enough condition that they'll survive without the electrical medical supports. Only then will I shut down the generator and shove it into a storage scroll."

"I heard that our senseis are carrying Chocho and the others out to the courtyard right now," Inojin added while shoving his belongings into his backpack. "But I'm not sure if Namida will be able to breathe without an air pump. After all, her lung collapsed only a day ago."

"Wasabi and Hanabi both have portable oxygen tanks," Denki assuaged Inojin's worries as the two healthy members of Team 5 left the large bedroom. "Namida's in good hands."

Inojin turned his mind back to packing up his things, and for a minute there was a peaceful silence in the room. However, it ended abruptly when Shikadai and Mitsuki entered while dragging Boruto behind them. The Uzumaki's eyes seemed locked in a thousand-meter stare, and Shikadai had to help guide him to his own bed. Inojin tilted his head with a hint of concern. "What happened to him?" The three sat the distracted Boruto down on his bed and tried to wake him up from his trance.

Over and over in his mind, Boruto was replaying the serene moments that he and Sumire spent on top of the snowy walls of the fortress. He relived their entire conversation, her long and drawn-out struggle to confess and reveal her longstanding feelings for him, and their first kiss. He remembered the way her unbraided hair swayed around as she turned towards him. Her gentle and sweet voice echoed in his ears, and he could still feel her hands that were cold to the touch. Her radiant warm smile and her cool deep eyes imprinted themselves into Boruto's brain. And when Sumire kissed him and pulled him into her tight embrace, he felt an ethereal level of happiness that he had not experienced yet up to that point in his life.

Reflecting upon all of these at once, Boruto realized that he was in love with Sumire, just as she was in love with him. So he began to wonder when those strong feelings for her began. She had been an important part of his life for the longest time now, even way back then when they were classmates at Konoha Academy. He valued her company and her input a lot, and her presence meant more to him than most others. He enjoyed spending his time with her in their joint missions and in Katasuke's lab as much as he did with Sarada, Mitsuki, and his family. Whenever she was hurt physically or emotionally, he recalled that he would stay by her side to lessen the burden of her pains. Even if he knew full well that she could hold her own and protect herself against most foes, he still wanted her to be safe and sound. And above all else, he wanted her to be happy. It now dawned on him that his feelings for Sumire have been with him for a long time; exactly how long, he himself was unsure. However, he simply didn't see it at the time as the romantic type of love. Perhaps, he thought to himself and smiled, he had inherited some of his father's innocent density, which his mother said he had when they were much younger.

_"…__I saw Boruto and Sumire hugging and kissing… Sarada said that she was cheering them on…"_

Boruto was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by Mitsuki telling Shikadai and Inojin what he had witnessed. "OYY MITSUKI! SHUT UP!" He covered Mitsuki's mouth to stop him from further revealing what happened, but the damage was already done.

"WAIT WHAT?" Shikadai and Inojin reacted in complete and utter shock. "NO WAY! BORUTO?"

Mitsuki turned to him. "Boruto, tell them. I'm not lying, and I don't think that I was under a genjutsu…" Boruto looked away for a second. He was thoroughly annoyed at Mitsuki for snitching, but then again, he knew that his friend and teammate didn't know any better.

"Sumire… confessed to me," Boruto finally admitted to his friends. "She kissed me and told me she loved me…"

Immediately after hearing Boruto say those words, Shikadai and Inojin cheered in celebration. "She's finally told Boruto!" Shikadai chuckled, "YES! After all these years, finally! Holy shit!"

"Wait," Boruto's face paled. "How long have you known?"

Inojin crossed his arms. "I've known about what Sumire felt for you for… hmm, I'd say around a year? Maybe a year and a half?"

"If I remember correctly," Shikadai one-upped Inojin, "I've known for more than three years now."

"I knew about it! Since today!" Mitsuki tried to interject proudly, to the confusion of the two members of Team 10.

Boruto stared at Inojin and Shikadai. "Why didn't either of you tell me about it?"

"Wait… Boruto, did you not know?" Shikadai put his face to hands.

Inojin quipped, "Are you THAT dense?"

Annoyance flared in Boruto's eyes for a second, but then he sighed and shrugged. "Maybe… I mean, my mom told me that dad was pretty dense when he was young, so I must have gotten it from him… Sorry-"

"Hey, that doesn't matter now!" Shikadai interrupted him and tried to bring the mood back up. He also put the urgency of evacuation on hold, since he knew that this conversation wouldn't take too long anyway, and because he had faith in Denki and Iwabe and Wasabi to make quick work of the Sephiroth Pillars without him having to directly supervise them. Additionally, he also knew that this was deeply important to both Sumire and Boruto, two friends he was closest to outside of his own team, because they were fellow team leaders. "The question is: How do you feel towards Sumire?"

"I… I like her too. But I haven't told her yet-"

While Mitsuki and Inojin were whispering to each other, Shikadai groaned, "Why?"

Boruto pointed his finger directly at him. "You interrupted us! After you called for us, she ran back inside!"

"Oh." Shikadai hung his head in embarrassment. "Uh, sorry about that… But when are you going to tell her?"

"I think she already knows," Inojin countered. "Boruto, Mitsuki here told me that you didn't push her away while you two were kissing. He saw that you actually pulled her even closer, like you were hugging her tighter…"

"Mitsuki, please stop-"

"Boruto," a curious Mitsuki asked while Inojin tried to suppress his growing giggles, "since Inojin said that you and Sumire are in love… Are you and Sumire going to make a baby soon?"

Boruto's eyes widened and his cheeks reddened, and Shikadai and Inojin burst into guffaws. "What… Why… why did you have to ask that?"

"Because being in love with someone means that you feel the need and urge procreate with that person, right? At least, that's how my father tried to explain the concept of _'love'_ to me." He then turned his attention to Shikadai. "Same question to you, Shikadai. Are you and Yodo going to have a baby soon?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Boruto and Shikadai shouted at Mitsuki in unison. Not wanting to go any deeper into this topic, a flustered Shikadai instead insisted, "We should all focus on our evacuation now. Boruto, you'll have more time to talk with Sumire about this when we get down to the safety of Ame or Konoha. Until then, we should hurry up."

"Yeah," Boruto responded, thankful that his friend had ended the conversation for him. "You should go and help organize everyone outside."

"I'll be going to Denki and Wasabi right now." The young scion of the Nara clan turned towards the door. But before leaving, he turned around and congratulated Boruto with a genuine smile. "Welcome to the club, I guess?"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Outside the Rem Fortress, where the Sheltered Col narrowed into the trail of Spur, Wasabi carefully climbed up to the top of one of the Sephiroth, twin great pillars of rough dark rock. The natural bottleneck marked the narrowest point of the passes of Mount Tirad. Below her, Iwabe and Denki shone powerful lights towards her and shouted instructions. Behind them, Shikadai, who was under heavy pressure coordinating the different moving parts of the planned secret evacuation, was disturbed from his thought process by Sarada and Mitsuki, who were running towards him.

Sarada asked, "How are the preparations coming along?"

"We're trying to make it such that the Sephiroth pillars will fall onto each other and form a wall of debris," Denki explained his plan. "For that, we need Wasabi up there to fix a taut rope between the two pillars near their tops, while we work on where to place the explosive traps for maximum efficiency. Then, I will work on the trigger mechanism for the explosive."

They watched as high above them, Wasabi jammed a metal rod near the top of the rocky spire before tying the rope to the rod. Any slight misstep could lead to her falling all the way down to the base of the spires, so Wasabi's movements were especially cautious. She kept in mind to always test for solid footholds before putting all of her weight into her next step.

Denki elaborated while pointing towards Wasabi, "The plan is that when the explosive trap is triggered somewhere near base of the rock, it will take away the stability of the rock pillars. The tensile force of the tight rope should be enough to apply a big enough rotational moment on the pillars and pull them into colliding with each other and then collapsing. I'm hoping that the resulting rockslide will be up to ten feet high and block the bottleneck."

Shikadai crossed his arms while working out the details in his head. "How long will that impede the progress of the Earth army?"

Iwabe shook his head. "Even if the wall is 10 feet high, the Earth Army is heavily-armed. If they use their explosives, they can get rid of the rockslide in a good 15 to 30 minutes. But if they can't bring enough of their equipment up here, then maybe they'll be delayed for maybe a few hours."

"So either way," Shikadai analyzed, "it won't buy us, Konoha, or Ame, a lot of time. But every second counts, especially for us. We need as much time as we can to escape."

After making sure that the rope was tied securely on one end, Wasabi tied the rope around her waist and leapt the narrow gap from the crest of one pillar to the other. She slid down upon landing on the other spire, and she clawed her nails into the rock to stop her from falling further down. From there, she climbed up to the top and then she stuck another rod at the tip of the spire. Holding the metal bar as if it were her only lifeline, she undid the rope knot around her waist, pulled it hard so that there was tension in the rope, and tied it around the rod as tight as she could.

"Okay, I'm done up here!" Wasabi left the taut rope by itself and descended from the top of the spire, her body almost hugging the snowy rock of the pillar on the way down, her claws digging into the rock face at times to help slow her down.

"Excellent!" Denki turned to her as she landed beside him on the snow. "Now for the trigger, what do we use? String or percussion?"

Mitsuki looked baffled and tilted his head. "Wait… How are you going to trigger explosives by playing instruments?"

Shikadai, Iwabe, and Wasabi simultaneously dropped their heads in disappointment. Sarada moaned, "Unbelievable…"

"Ohh, we were actually talking about whether we should use string tripwires or percussion blast-caps as the trigger mechanism for the Sephiroth trap," Denki easily explained, "not kinds of musical instruments. Sorry for causing you confusion, Mitsuki."

Mitsuki's face lit up and he nodded, and Sarada chuckled. "You can be a teacher someday, Denki. You have so much more patience in teaching compared to any of us."

"You really think so?" Denki thought about it. "I guess I can think about it when we're out of here! But anyway," he continued, "I think the best would be a percussion trigger. At least we won't have to worry about any accidental pulling of trigger tripwires during of the evacuation. Also, if my calculations are correct, the best height to place the explosives on the pillars would be at around… 2.35 meters above the ground for maximum effect."

As Iwabe marked the most efficient points by carving out small holes in the natural spire using his earthen pole, Wasabi placed the explosives in those holes. Denki designed the trap to be triggered, after a five second time delay, by any sufficient and sudden percussive impact on the blast cap, which Wasabi placed on the pillar for a sure activation. On the other hand, Sarada, Shikadai, and Mitsuki returned to the courtyard within the relative safety of the fortress walls, passing by the half-open Spur Gate that Denki had activated earlier to prepare for the coming evacuation. While Sarada and Mitsuki were running back to the main building to help Sumire and Boruto finish the packing, Shikadai split up with them. "Where are you going?"

"To the observation point," Shikadai, slightly deviated from his usual calm self, replied to Sarada. "I'm going to pack up Denki's instruments and retrieve the reconnaissance data we've gathered."

"You want us to help you?" Sarada offered. "That's a lot of stuff to carry by yourself."

"No need, Moegi-sensei said that she would help me. You guys go ahead and fix your things. Tell Boruto to hurry up too! And if you can, bring all the bags outside when you're done!"

"Okay! We'll do that!" As Shikadai ran to the northwest end of the courtyard and up to the observation deck, Sarada and Mitsuki headed straight ahead and ran back into their main building at the center of the Rem Fortress. While running through the light brown hallways, they met Konohamaru and Hanabi, who were helping Enko and Hako along to the snowy courtyard outside. Sarada was now sure that the senseis would be the ones to help evacuate her other wounded friends, like Chocho and Namida.

Running past them, they soon arrived at their bedrooms, where they bumped into Boruto, who was packing up things for himself and other people, albeit slowly. To Sarada's keen eyes, he seemed distracted and consumed by his thoughts. "Boruto," Sarada called to him, "Shikadai wants you to hurry up."

"Huh?" Boruto snapped his head to their direction, as if he snapped back to reality. "Ohh, I'm almost finished! I'm also packing up for Metal, Houki, and Renga, but I'm just about done, you know?"

Mitsuki began to help Boruto put the belongings into the corresponding bags, so Sarada briskly walked back to the women's quarters, where she found Sumire shoving clothes, food, medicine, and ninja supplies into Wasabi's orange rucksack and Namida's green knapsack. Her own dark purple duffel bag had already been zipped tightly on her bed, yet her bright yellow drawstring satchel was still splayed open with her three special weapons, the disassembled sniper rifle, G18c auto-pistol, and custom chakra saber, all inside it. Meanwhile, her notebook was still open on the smooth stone table, with the fountain pen shining in the gleam of the table lamp.

"You're back!" Sumire greeted Sarada. "How's the planned Sephiroth rockslide coming along?"

"It's pretty much done. Denki mentioned that it will be triggered with some percussive impact, like with one of your metal or water bullets, or with Iwabe's hammer pole."

"And how's the weather outside? This really is the eye of the storm?"

"Yup! It's still very cold outside, but at least there's no more wind or snowfall. Anyway, are you done packing up?"

"For myself, done except for my notebook. And I'm almost done for Wasabi and Namida, but I haven't gotten around to Hako's things yet."

"I'll pack for Chocho and Enko after I'm done with my own… It shouldn't take too long though. Enko didn't bring much to begin with, while Chocho only has a few potato chips left from all the ones she brought here…"

Sumire put the last of the belongings inside the bags of her two close friends and sealed them. "Now onto Hako…"

"By the way," Sarada asked while stuffing her pillow and her clothes into her bag, "are you done with the writing you were working on? Your notebook is still open."

"Ah yes," Sumire answered, "I just finished the poem and started packing up for Wasabi and Namida a minute before you came in."

"I see." Sarada zipped her bag closed, placed it on her bed, and then walked over to Chocho's bedside. "I can be your quality check before we let Boruto see it, okay? Wasabi and Namida too, once we're all safe at Ame!"

"Quality check? Like a beta reader or something?" Sumire laughed as she gently paced all of Hako's things into her black gothic satchel, save for her doll Tokenagi. The enlargeable pink doll stayed at her bedside in the infirmary, and it would help her and others while descending the mountain. "Sure! I might need a second opinion with some of the lines, to be honest."

When all of Hako's things had been put into her rucksack, Sumire walked back to the table where her notebook was. "Tell me what you think of this," she asked of her best friend.

"Go ahead Sumire!" Sarada zipped up Chocho's extra-large bag before moving onto Enko's belongings.

Sumire cleared her voice before reciting what she had written.

_"__Once, like a dream  
__You looked at me  
__And everything felt new  
__Time slipped away  
__The past seemed to fade  
__My hope restored by you_

_And I know for some, it's temporary  
__Like a shooting star soon out of view  
__But this will always be  
__It's my destiny to be in love with you_

_Some people fall in love for life  
__Others never get it right  
__Love's fickle when it calls  
__One thing that I know for sure  
__Longer than our lives endure  
__You're my Forever Fall_

_Your trust and honesty helped me believe  
__A ray of hope shined through  
__You set me free, saw what the world couldn't see  
__I found my joy in you_

_Every life is filled with passing moments  
__Like the seasons change, they come and go  
__But this is infinite  
__Nothing, even death, can separate our souls  
__Cause you're my final goal_

_Some people fall in love for life  
__Others never get it right  
__Love's fickle when it calls  
__One thing that I know for sure  
__Longer than our lives endure  
__You're my Forever Fall…"_

"Wow Sumire!" Sarada couldn't help but applaud. "It's so sweet! After listening to you, I could tell just how happy you are right now. I'm sure Boruto would love to hear you say this to him."

"Thanks," Sumire grinned in joy and fulfillment. She then closed her notebook, attached her pen to it, and placed it gently in her yellow drawstring backpack before pulling the strings tightly and sealing it shut. Afterwards, she switched off her small folding table lamp and placed it inside her purple duffel bag. "I'm done now."

"I finished packing for Enko as well," Sarada huffed. "Now we just need to bring all these bags outside to the others."

Sumire suggested, "Four bags each for the both of us? I have both my bags, plus the other two for Wasabi and Namida, while you carry yours, Chocho's, Enko's, and Hako's. How does that sound?" Sarada nodded to her suggestion, and the two kunoichi slowly exited their room, their frames straining under the weight of all the bags they were carrying. Outside in the hallway, they bumped into Boruto and Mitsuki, who were also dragging all of the bags out of their bedroom. Together, the four of them accomplished the painstaking task of hauling everyone's things outside to the well-lit central courtyard, which was now abuzz with activity.

Looking around, they saw Shikadai, Inojin, and Moegi carrying scrolls containing Denki's surveillance instruments and equipment. Behind them, Kakashi was examining what looked to be the recon data recovered. On the other hand, Udon stood guard over the eight prisoners-of-war outside their shed. The eight women from Iwa were huddling around each other in an attempt to keep warm.

At the opposite side of the small plaza, Denki was leaning beside his generator. The loud whirring of the gas-fueled electric generator gradually died down, and the electric lampposts that were lighting the courtyard in a whitish glow waned and waxed for a few seconds before going out altogether. For a short while, darkness shrouded the entirety of the Rem Fortress, before those who still had their phones or flashlights on them switched them on.

"Everyone," Boruto shouted, pointing one such flashlight at the lode of bags at his feet, "your bags are here! Get them!"

As Wasabi and the others rushed to the pile of baggage, Hanabi and Konohamaru passed by while carefully transporting Namida outside on a stretcher, complete with an IV line hooked up to her. They gently laid her stretcher down in the middle of the central courtyard, beside Hako and a barely-conscious Chocho.

Suddenly and without any warning, Boruto's Jougan activated on its own and glowed its haunting shade of whitish blue, signaling the presence of some foes close by. "Enemies!" Boruto warned. "They're near-"

Almost immediately, Boruto's warning was followed by the ground shifting underneath. Giant holes opened up from below, revealing Earth shinobi infiltrating the castle from underground tunnels they had dug in secret. Shikadai growled and cursed as he rushed to the rapidly forming frontline. Their plan of a secret escape had been undone.

"We need help over here, you know!" Boruto screamed to the others as the Land of Earth infiltrators charged towards them as one horde while throwing javelins of rock towards them. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Boruto focused his efforts on those who had already charged closer to him and the wounded. He and his seven clones all pulled out their katana longswords and met the enemy head on near the center of the courtyard.

Shikadai began barking orders while paralyzing some enemy soldiers for the multiple Boruto clones to take care of with their rasengans and katanas. "Whoever can still fight, fight with us! Whoever can't fight anymore, please evacuate now!"

Inojin and Moegi used all of their available strength to pull Chocho away, while Hanabi dragged Namida's stretcher along the thickened snow. Unfortunately, most of the wounded could not move by themselves due to their injuries, so they stayed put at the center of the courtyard while waiting for help to come to them.

Meanwhile, to support Boruto and Shikadai, both Sumire and Sarada jumped into the fray, quickly followed by Mitsuki, Wasabi, and Iwabe.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!" From Sarada's mouth came a lake of blazing flames that covered a wide area in front of her. A few of her targets were vaporized, with only their silhouettes and shadows remaining where they once stood.

"Earth Style: Stone Wall!" However, many of the Earth soldiers were saved by the quick efforts of their barrier specialists, who formed earthen walls in time to protect them from the flames.

However, while they hid behind their improvised shield, Sumire had already flanked them. "Water Style: Ripping Torrent!" She whipped a churning wave of pressurized water directly at the hidden shinobi, who were crushed and pounded between their walls of rock and her waves of water.

Another tunnel opened up behind Boruto, who was busy holding down the frontlines with Shikadai, but Mitsuki caught the soldiers before they could launch their own surprise attack. He ensnared a good twenty of them into outstretched extended arms. "Lightning Style: Snake Lightning." A powerful yellow electric charge instantly electrocuted everyone within Mitsuki's grasp, and after ten seconds he let go of the charred bodies that remained.

Wasabi focused on the rest of the tunnels at their flanks, near the collapsing earthen wall that Sumire had buffeted with her water waves. "Ninja Art: Cheetah Cloak!" Wasabi used her fastest cat transformation and charged in a random, unpredictable zigzag towards all the infiltrating Earth shinobi that she could reach. She narrowly danced around the bullets fired and rock spears thrown towards her, and she clawed at her enemies' necks and slit their throats in close combat.

"Earth Style: Rock Brick Cane!" Nearby, Iwabe smashed the ground with his earthen hammer-pole and collapsed the tunnels still hidden underground, temporarily trapping those inside them in dark, rocky, suffocating tombs.

After a few minutes of intense fighting, the assault fizzled out as the first attack by Earth shinobi was routed. A pause settled in, but the sudden silence was quite unsettling for the evacuating Konoha detachment. Shikadai then looked at Boruto and admitted, "I would never have expected them to do this. It's the dead of night, it's extremely unsafe and unfavorable to them, and this weather is quite unpredictable. Why would they risk and gamble this many lives?"

"Maybe they're following a schedule?" Wasabi suggested sarcastically as she returned from her cheetah form to her normal self to conserve chakra.

"She's right though." Boruto reasoned, "The faster they get rid of us, the faster they'll reach Ame and Konoha, and the quicker and easier their war will be."

"This all just makes our mission much clearer," Sarada replied to Boruto. "We delay their 'schedule' as long as we can."

Sumire remarked to Sarada's objective, "That's probably much easier said than done…"

Just then, they heard the familiar nerve-wracking wailing of freshly launched rockets emanating from lower down the mountain, on the Land of Earth side of the Mile-High mountain range. It was a continuous barrage, a cascade of startling explosions from far away. Before anyone could even follow his or her instinct to resume the evacuation, the bombardment struck the Rem Fortress. Upon impact on the walls of the fortress, the bombs falling out of the sky produced shattering shockwaves that would shake anyone to the core. But while many of the shells struck the high gneiss walls, others ended up being airbursts that gave off lightning-like dazzling glows.

In the midst of the chaos, while Boruto and the others at the new frontlines were taking shelter from the bombing, a huge blast of consecutive direct hits partially broke down a weakened section of wall that included the Hod Gate.

Suddenly, one mortar screamed down from high above and made a direct hit on the shed housing the captured weapons and ammunition, causing a massive and disorienting explosion that sent metallic shrapnel flying in all directions. The shrapnel struck Metal and Hako, the last of the wounded whom Inojin and Moegi had been trying to drag away from the scene of battle. The explosive shell also sparked an inferno, which then began cooking off the ammunition that was lying in the rubble, and it fired the bullets in random directions.

Finally, after more than two hundred artillery shells had landed over the fortress, the blasts mercifully came to a stop. However, when Boruto looked at the gaping hole in the wall, he saw with his own eyes that a large force of the Second Army of the Land of Earth was massed outside. The enemy was at their gates.

Both the Earth Army and the Merikhan volunteer troops started to flood through the breach in the wall that their bombing had caused. They charged in, only to be met by Konohamaru and Kakashi, both of whom ran past Boruto and the others.

"Lightning Style: Purple Lightning!"

"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With these two attacks alone, over a hundred enemy soldiers were cut down and killed. However, their bodies began to pile up onto each other, forming a semi-stable wall of human flesh where the rest of the Earth Army could hunker down and regroup. "Loose!" Without warning, a hail of grenades was lobbed from behind the wall of human bodies. Kakashi saw that some of the explosives landed right next to Gengania and the other asylum-seekers, who were still in the center of the courtyard. He also saw that Udon was helping Inojin drag Metal and Hako to the relative safety of the open Spur Gate, so Udon himself could not protect the eight women he had been guarding just a minute ago. So Kakashi instinctively sprinted towards them, and he shielded the eight ladies from Iwa with his own body just before the bombs blew up. Kakashi bore the brunt of the resulting shrapnel-filled explosion.

"NO!" Konohamaru doubled back and rushed towards Kakashi, leaving Boruto and the others to keep the enemy army at bay.

"Damn this…" Kakashi spat fresh red blood onto the white snow. The flak jacket he had been wearing was punctured from behind in multiple places, and its olive green color was now being tinged dark red.

"Sir Kakashi!" Gengania checked on the condition of the former Sixth Hokage, who had just sacrificed his own body for her and her friends. "Don't worry sir, you'll live. It looks like none of your vital arteries were struck."

"Thank you-"

"It should be me thanking you," Gengania replied. "The eight of us, really… For everything all of you have done for us. We'll gladly repay your kindness." Leaving the wounded Kakashi in the care of Konohamaru, Gengania ran across the courtyard towards the burning building, avoiding bullets coming her way from both her former Earth Army compatriots and from the very blaze that she was heading to.

When she reached the shed, she picked up several still-usable automatic rifles that had been thrown outwards by the sheer force of the immense explosion a few minutes prior, along with their corresponding magazines. Her friends followed her after realizing what she intended to do, and so Gengania tossed them the weapons and ammunition. "Do you all remember how to use and reload these guns?"

"Yup, we're still familiar with these," Conwi and Panga replied at the same time, followed by everyone else.

"Wait… What are you all doing?" Konohamaru asked them with concern in his voice. He was afraid that they might turn on them, that they would rejoin the fight against them.

But Gengania explained, "We all took our National Service Training Program units in college right before we were drafted to war. In our NSTP classes, we were trained in modern small-unit tactics and sharpshooting with these new weapons, so we can provide covering fire while you retreat… Listen, we want to prove our new loyalties to you and to all our new friends, because you, even though you were supposedly the enemy, treated us better than our very own people did."

Kakashi, who slowly stood up while being assisted by Konohamaru, accepted their help. "Take care of yourselves… I promise, when we get back to Konoha, I will personally make sure that you eight get your asylum, and also your residencies and citizenship, as soon as possible. Thank you again…"

"Thank you Sir Kakashi!" Gengania, Panga, and the other ladies from Iwa then rushed to what defensive positions they could, such as the corners of the remaining stone buildings and the craters left behind by exploded artillery shells. They cocked their weapons and prepared to cover the impending retreat of the frontline.

"Alright then! Everyone!" Konohamaru ordered clearly while helping Kakashi along. "Organized fighting retreat until the Spur Gate!"

"You heard him," Shikadai addressed Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Sumire, Iwabe, and Wasabi. "Let's go!"

As the seven shinobi and kunoichi turned to make a run for the safety of the gate on the Spur Trail, Gengania and the others fired a continuous volley into the thronging mass of soldiers, laying down cover fire, holding the attack at bay for a while, and giving their new friends a clear window to retreat. They hit some of the soldiers, but the shots were mostly warnings directed to the Earth Army not to try and take shots or chase after the retreating Konoha garrison. The girls only left their positions when the seven Konoha ninjas passed by them.

However, the Land of Earth shinobi and Merikhan soldiers that had passed through the breach in the wall tactically chose not to give chase to the retreating forces yet, partly due to the cover fire provided by Gengania and her company. They instead chose to open the Feres Gate first, which had been locked from inside the fortress beforehand, and gather up their forces for a much stronger assault.

Almost at the Spur Gate, Sumire looked back at the invading force. An idea quickly formed in her head, and she stopped in her tracks, letting Gengania and her friends pass by her. _"NUE!"_ She pleaded internally as she summoned him, _"Please come out in your largest form!"_

Nue heard its master's call and her request. It subsequently appeared out of a large cloud of smoke, as huge as it was during their Attack on Konoha a few years earlier. "Please Nue! Keep those people busy for as long as you can! And come running right back to me once you can't hold them off any longer. Got it?"

"NUE! NUE!" Nue roared in a much deeper, growling voice due to its increased size. It then blitzed through the fortress to its enemies, who had now unwittingly trapped themselves within the confines of the fortress. The giant ferocious beast pounced on any and all unfortunate soldiers that it could lay its massive paws and jaws on, crushing them into puddles of blood and gore, flinging them high in the air and into the abyss, or crunching their bones and spilling their insides with its razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaws.

"Good thinking!" Shikadai commented as he and the others who had just passed the slightly opened Spur Gate stared at the giant Nue now wreaking havoc.

"Nue's current state might not last that long," Sumire let them know as all fifteen of them, both the ninjas from Konoha and the asylum-seekers from Iwa, pushed the two extremely heavy stone doors of the Spur Gate the short distance it needed to be fully closed.

"Bar this gate from outside," Shikadai suggested. "Lock them inside."

"On it," Iwabe replied and jammed the gate shut with two new stone crossbeams he made with his pole-hammer. The crossbeams now prevented the door from swinging inwards or outwards. However, the wall in front of them, the one that now kept the enemy inside the courtyard and prevented them from reaching the weakened Konoha squadron, was sporadically hit by some exploding rockets from the Land of Earth soldiers. The wall was also being battered by some body parts furiously flung by an enraged Nue.

"Even these walls won't last forever," Shikadai reminded the others.

Boruto replied, "Then let's get out of here now."

The fifteen people bringing up the rear distanced themselves from the wall, the roars of Nue, and the cries of agony inside the Rem Fortress. They rejoined the others near the Sephiroth. The snowy pillars of rock were lit a ghostly shade of white by the half-moon and by the flashlights carried by Denki and the senseis, with a slight hint of red from the growing fires inside the falling fortress behind them.

"I'll lead the way down!" Konohamaru volunteered and ventured down into the darkness of the Spur Trail, sharing the light of his electric torch with his black surroundings. Denki followed close behind him, carrying in his large backpack all of the scrolls filled with all the equipment he had brought up to the fortress two weeks ago. Renga was being helped along the snowy trail by Udon, who himself was gingerly limping after being hit by some metallic shrapnel on his right shin from the bombardment. After them, Iwabe descended past the Sephiroth while supporting and propping Metal up by the shoulder. His earthen shape-shifting pole was now morphed into a cross between a pickaxe and an ice axe, so if ever Metal slipped, he could belay the ice axe into the snow and rock, hopefully arresting their fall.

Behind the two of them, Gengania, Panga, and Conwi all decided to help Kakashi down the mountain, as a further sign of their gratitude for his unusually kind treatment of them during their captivity, which they had said was even better than their conditions in the Earth Army. Kakashi may not have been in good shape due to the shrapnel lodged in his back, but he was still conscious enough and mentally sharp enough to thank them once again.

The other five prisoners-of-war also helped their wounded friends in a show of goodwill and thanks. Ivyred and Fujibayashi supported Enko by the shoulders to take the weight off of her legs, and they slowly made their way down into the dimness. Meanwhile, Yamada and Tomoka carried Houki and clambered down the pass. Right on their tail, a bleeding Hako descended the slope while riding on the shoulders of her currently enlarged Tokenagi, with Mikawa guiding her and trying to stem the bleeding from the metal fragments in her thigh.

"Boruto, help us over here," Moegi called him over as she, Shikadai, and Inojin tried to lift Chocho, who was drifting in and out of consciousness. Her body was still weak from her emergency operation just a day and a half ago, and she was in no condition to climb down by her own power. So the five carefully hoisted her up and moved her down the mountain, with Moegi and Inojin holding up her shoulders and neck, and Shikadai and Boruto carrying her by her legs. Mitsuki, being Mitsuki, went the extra mile to help out by also extending his arms, wrapping them around Chocho's wide torso, and pulling her upwards.

The long exodus progressed at a cautious snail's pace, with Konohamaru, Denki, and Udon having to light the pass for everyone following them. Bottlenecks formed at the steeper sections of the descent, where one wrong move by anyone could kill not only one person but also others below unfortunate enough to be in his or her fatal path.

Behind the tired, weary, evacuating Konoha squadron, a deafening roar that was filled with agony and pain rang through the night air, and a shockwave rattled the entire fortress. A large cloud of smoke accompanied it, and as Sarada, Sumire, Wasabi, and Hanabi looked back at the Rem Fortress, they saw Nue running towards them. Nue, who had returned to its most sustainable small size, was covered in blood, most of it not its own. But it was still crying in pain because it was also peppered with bleeding gashes and some minor bullet wounds that had shrunk in both size and concern when Nue itself shrunk down.

When Nue ran into its mother's waiting arms, Sumire saw that the metal bullets had all disappeared, but the wounds remained. "It's okay Nue," Sumire calmed it down while Wasabi healed its wounds and closed them up with her advanced medical ninjutsu. "You fought long enough. We'll take it from here."

"You held off the entire Earth Second Army by yourself for over twenty minutes," Sarada added as she patted and tickled the back of Nue's head. "You've done all we can ask of you to do. We're proud of you. Thanks Nue!"

"Nue… Nu…e…" It purred and growled at the same time, albeit weakly due to having expended most of its chakra.

After treating Nue's wounds on the spot, Wasabi then focused on numbing the pain Nue felt by using an effective anesthetic jutsu she had learned from Sakura during her training under her, the same on she had used on Namida. "Light Style: Potent Anesthesia."

"All done," Wasabi told the others once Nue felt no more pain. "Now let's get out of here. You guys trigger the trap, okay?"

Wasabi first double-checked that Namida was strapped tightly to her stretcher. She then lifted the part of the stretcher near Namida's head, while Hanabi carried the part near Namida's legs. Together, the two of them very slowly and cautiously followed Boruto, Shikadai, and the others who were carrying Chocho down.

But now, the wall beside the Spur Gate began to strain under the tremendous numbers and forces of the Earth's Second Army, and Sumire and Sarada knew they did not have much time left. "Let's spring this trap already," Sarada suggested.

Sumire looked back at the failing wall of the Rem Fortress. _It surely wouldn't last another five minutes under this assault,_ she thought to herself. _"We need more time…"_

"How long will it take for the Earth Army to catch up to us, Sarada?"

"They won't reach us in time if we block the pass right now," Sarada tried to assure her. "We'll get down from Mount Tirad and reach Ame first."

But Sumire did not buy it. "You saw them. They have explosives and guns and earth jutsus," she continued. "They'll take care of this barrier, one way or another. And since we're slowed down because we have tired and injured people with us, they will catch up to us in no time."

"They won't! Trust me Sumire! Let's trigger the rockslide now!"

Sumire pulled out her automatic pistol from her yellow drawstring bag. "I'll trigger the rockslide. But I think if nothing else is changed in our plan, then we could all die! We could be forced to abandon our wounded friends to their deaths by freezing. I don't want that second option either, Sarada-"

"I won't trade lives, Sumire. As the future Hokage, I won't allow anyone to be left behind. We fight together and we flee together, or we're not truly allies at all."

"True," Sumire nodded grimly, slightly biting her lip. "But I think I can offer a solution to that…"

Sarada's eyes grew wide. She now realized what her purple-haired friend was suggesting. The reason she was still here, why she didn't accompany her own team during the descent. It all clicked in Sarada's mind.

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE! Sumire! You promised!"

"I can feel it, Sarada… Remember what Denki said? Rapid Atom and Fonon Dissociation is a progressive disorder, and it will keep getting worse-"

"But you promised, dammit!" Sarada grabbed her best friend's shoulders. "You promised to go back with us! That you wouldn't give up until the very end…" Sarada gritted her teeth in anger and held back tears. "I promised you that I… that we would all be with you by your side when it was time! So please… Sumi…"

Sumire gently held Sarada's hands, which were clasped onto the top of her shoulders. "Sarada… I know I promised to you back at the summit. But I'm sorry. At least here, I can help buy you guys as much time as you need… I can save every one of the people I value most… You, Boruto-kun, and everyone else-"

"Even then!" Sarada persisted. "Live Sumire! If not for yourself, for all of us… LIVE! Dammit, even if some stupid people think that it's a sin for you to be alive, please keep on living!"

Gradually, Sumire carefully pushed Sarada's hands away from her, before telling her best friend, "I just… want this to be over quickly…" Sumire flashed back to the last time she had said those very words, when Mitsuki had come over to visit her in her hospital room, on the day of her attack against Konoha all those years ago.

Then her mind recalled the words that Kashin Koji had told her and Sarada during their battle at Konoha more than a month prior, and she sighed when she realized that his words proved prophetic. "I guess Kashin Koji was right, after all…" She echoed his words to her. _"No matter how much I will try, I will never escape my past, nor can I escape my destiny. Run from it, hide from it, and yet my destiny will still come_-"

But she interrupted by Sarada bringing her into a tight hug. "Sumi… Dammit Sumire… No, please don't do this…" Sarada was sobbing and trembling in Sumire's arms.

Sumire hesitated, and Sarada felt a fluttering ray of hope that she had changed Sumire's mind at the last possible second. But it was cruelly crushed when her former class rep finally affirmed, "I… have to do this…"

Sarada felt defeated and in agony. She knew in her heart that her best friend had made her final decision and would no longer budge from her choice. Another loud crash echoed out into the darkness, and the two girls saw the fort's wall starting to crumble and tilt towards them. "Fine…" Sarada begrudgingly relented. "It's your decision… yours alone to make."

Sumire tearfully and gratefully acknowledged Sarada as she handed her knapsack and her drawstring go-bag to Sarada, but not before bringing out her chakra saber to complement her G18c pistol. "Some last things," Sumire requested. "Read my writings when you have the chance, and tell Namida to make them into real songs for me. Look after the others. And be there for Boruto… Take care of him for me, please?"

Sarada moved beyond the two rocky pillars of the Sephiroth before stopping, turning around to look at Sumire one last time, and reluctantly nodding. Satisfied, Sumire took aim at the explosive trap with her gun and fired a single shot. After a few seconds, the explosive charges detonated, and the Sephiroth collapsed into a rockslide as planned, blocking the entire narrow mouth of the mountain pass.

"Thank you Sarada!" Sumire shouted loudly enough after the rockslide had settled, so that Sarada could hear her over the relentless background of explosions and gunfire from the Earth Army. "Be careful on your way down! And don't forget your promises to me!"

On the other side of the rockslide, Sarada yelled back angrily. "I said that I accept your decision! But it doesn't mean I agree with it! Even if everyone else back home may call you a hero, even if Lord Hokage does too! I… I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

_"__I'm sorry… Sarada… Boruto… everyone…" _Sighing deeply, Sumire walked back resolutely towards the blazing fortress, the dancing flames of which lit her face in red and orange and yellow colors.

Nue ran around her, trying to get her attention. "Please Sumire," Nue desperately pleaded, "don't do this! I can't bear to watch you die…"

Sumire stopped and Nue climbed up its to master's shoulder. "Only one of us is needed for annihilation to be successful. I beg you Sumire, please let me detonate instead. Save yourself, live on, fight on! Keep pushing onwards! Don't throw your life away!"

"No Nue," Sumire adamantly refused, as large fragments of the wall before them began to crash down into the snow of the Sheltered Col, whipping up a haze of orange-tinted snowy mist into the darkness of the night. "I can't keep pushing much longer," she admitted.

Nue whined, but Sumire rubbed its mane to comfort it. "The question though," she asked her unique summoning, "are you sure about that very last lesson you taught me?"

"The one I told you about after teaching you 'Innocent Shine'? In theory, yes." Nue sadly replied. "But in practice, I've never done it, nor do I know of anyone or anything that has."

"That's good enough," Sumire nodded in response. "If there's a good chance of it succeeding, I'll be okay with doing this…"

"Okay then, here I go." She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and focused all her available chakra to her chest and arms, before making a seal of confrontation. "Innocent Shine."

Sumire felt the familiar feeling of dark chakra and energy beginning to mass in her, especially in the parts of her body where her old Gozu Tennou seal still had some lingering remnants and traces left over. The familiar eerie voice rang out in her head, the voice of who she once was, the melancholic and angry voice of the old Sumire.

_"The chain reaction has started," _her Shigaraki counterpart spoke to her in her mind. _"You were right about the mechanism of our dark chakra and the time-manipulation jutsu being antimatter controlled in a closed system… in this case, our body. According to the academic research papers that Denki got us to read yesterday, the buildup of dark energy in the form of negative chakra in your body will eventually be sufficient as to produce antimatter, which will be stored where our Gozu Tennou used to be, where fragments of our Gozu Tennou still linger. The moment you choose to trigger the jutsu, the antimatter will be released and will interact with matter. Annihilation will follow immediately after."_

"How long will it take?" Sumire asked her. "The buildup of antimatter and dark energy, I mean?"

The voice responded despondently, _"A few minutes will be enough to fill you with enough dark chakra and antimatter for a very large explosion… So much for self-preservation-"_

The castle wall partially collapsed farther in front of them, and the soldiers of the Earth's Second Army began to climb up to the breach more than halfway up the wall and flood through to the other side. But they had to slowly and carefully climb down the breach, as it was around 12-15 meters high, and a fall from there could be lethal.

Sumire sighed and hugged Nue tightly. "I order you to leave me right now," she told Nue, "so you can survive and live on. Only one of us needs to die here."

"Nue… I love you… my Mother!"

Sumire was stunned for a moment. When she remembered that Nue thinks of her as its mother, it made her hesitate even more. But nonetheless, her grip tightened her hands felt Nue's soft furry back. "I'm… sorry Nue… I know I wasn't the best mother figure for you… But you are my child, and now I set you free… Outlive me… Make me proud… And please, if you can, watch over Boruto and Sarada and my teammates and everyone else for me… Protect them from hereon out, now that I won't be able to…"

Nue nodded somberly before scampering away. It clambered onto and jumped over the rocks and boulders and into the opaque darkness beyond. "Goodbye Mother…"

Sumire looked back at Nue fleeing away for as long as she could. After it faded into the darkness beyond the fallen Sephiroth, Sumire turned her attention towards the soldiers gathering at the base of the broken wall. She quickly took cover behind a stray broken boulder from the Sephiroth, and as she waited for the enemy to come to her, she rehearsed her impromptu plan through her head. _"Take out as many enemy shinobi as you can,"_ she told herself, _"to delay their crossing. They'll keep charging to the narrow mouth of the pass to get to me. That should create a bottleneck, and once most of the army is lured close enough, I'll trigger the bomb inside me… Hopefully it'll give everyone enough time to escape, and wipe out enough enemy soldiers to derail the Land of Earth's war plans…"_

She composed herself, then stood up and spun around from behind the boulder. She sprayed the oncoming enemy with several full magazines of her G18c automatic pistol, letting them know without a doubt where she was. As the Second Army of the Land of Earth began to converge on her position, dozens fell dead, dying, or injured in the metal storm of her gunfire, while others tripped and trampled over their comrades while pushing and flanking around their lone enemy's position. Quickly realizing she was about to be pinned down or surrounded, she left her cover behind. With a high-pitched war cry, she sprinted around in a zigzag reminiscent of Wasabi's attack runs, avoiding fast-rising earth walls, death pits, rock tombs, and lethal boulders and rock javelins being thrown at her. She continued to strafe even more of the invaders down and reload quickly, up to the very last magazine of her automatic pistol.

When she did finally run out of bullets, she threw her pistol to the side and activated her dark purple chakra saber, the hilt of which was slight curved, and she held it firmly with her right hand. At the same time, she alternated her free left hand; she was firing off water bullets with it one moment, and then stabbing and slicing with water swords the next. She spun, danced, and slashed around her confused and suddenly terrified foes, who became petrified by the sight of people being beheaded, cleaved in half, pierced by water bullets, or hacked into tiny pieces, all by a young rampaging violet flower in their midst.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Further down the mountain pass, Boruto had been helping carry Chocho with Shikadai, Inojin, and Mitsuki. After the explosion and rocky rumbling which Shikadai noted was the Sephiroth Trap being activated, Boruto heard Sarada screaming at the top of her lungs above him.

_"__I said that I accept your decision! But it doesn't mean I agree with it! Even if everyone else back home may call you a hero, even if Lord Hokage does too! I… I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"_

Glancing back at the Sephiroth, he asked in a loud voice, "Sarada? Sumire? What's happening over there?"

Sarada's voice answered back. "It's Sumire! She's staying behind!"

"WHAT?" Boruto let go of Chocho and ran back up the mountain, inadvertently causing the other four to lose their balance. Because of the sudden loss of support, Moegi, Shikadai, and Inojin could not keep Chocho up, and she slipped from their firm grasps. However, since Mitsuki's arms were wrapped around Chocho's waist, he could not let go of her. Chocho started rolling down the mountain with Mitsuki caught and entangled with her, and the two formed a giant quick-growing snowball that narrowly missed the others who were below them.

Meanwhile, Wasabi and Hanabi carefully laid Namida down by the trailside and rushed to where Sarada silently stood, at the base of the newly formed rockslide. Boruto reached them a minute later, but by that time they were already hearing screams, shots, splashes, blasts, and the whirring sound of a swinging chakra saber beyond the fallen Sephiroth.

"Sumire!" Hanabi asked in her now-panicking voice, "why are you doing this?"

Wasabi pounded the fallen rocks with her fists. "Sumire, don't be an idiot! You've got this stupid idea of sacrificing yourself to hold them off and save us, don't you?"

"Sumire! Don't do this," Boruto pleaded with Sumire. "Please! If this is about people back home hating you and wanting you dead, we can handle them easily! More people will believe Dad than they will Gadon and those other damn idiots! So please, come back to us!"

In desperation, Wasabi tried to climb the tall rockslide. However, an explosion from the other side jolted the rocks into further instability, and the rock she was gripping onto broke free. Wasabi fell backwards to the ground 7 meters below, with the heavy dislodged rock landing just inches to the right of her face. On the other hand, Sarada was sitting down motionless, her sad and empty eyes showing resignation and hopelessness.

"We've got to get Sumire," Boruto screamed. "Dammit!"

"But how?" Wasabi sat upright, rubbing her lower back, which hurt due to the fall. "This is too unstable for us to climb over."

"Then we fucking blast it to bits!" Boruto hastily suggested. "I'll do it if I have to!"

A white, snakelike arm wrapped around a snowy boulder beside them, and Boruto saw Mitsuki quickly pulling himself up to their height by contracting his extended limb. "Is Sumire still on the other side?"

"Yes!" Wasabi then asked Mitsuki, "Can you climb over and get her?"

"Don't," Boruto warned. "Everyone, step back."

Wasabi, Sarada, and Hanabi saw both Boruto's Jougan and Karma Seal activated at the same time. "NO! DON'T!" The three objected in unison. However, Boruto's eye and seal glowed an intense shade of light blue, and from their combined powers, he shot out a blue, lightning-like burst of chakra from the tips of his fingers. The energetic blast completely demolished the improvised rockslide, clouded the whole crest of the pass with a thick brown smoky dust, and formed a passageway from where Boruto and the others could reach Sumire.

"You fucking ruined the entire plan!" Sarada cursed as she tried to pull him back. But Boruto ignored her and kept walking forward. The dust cleared and settled somewhat, and Boruto made out the figure of Sumire within a stone's throw away, just within sight through the haze he had just created.

"Sumire!" Boruto called out to her, and she looked around and focused on him, shocked.

"Boruto-kun?" She coughed due to the thick smoky dust in the air. "Why are you still here?"

"We came back for you, you know? Of course we wouldn't leave you behind! Don't try to be a hero! Come with us now!"

"Just go already!" Sumire retorted and waved them off. "Run! Go-"

Suddenly, Sumire groaned in deep, unimaginable pain. Boruto's eyes grew wide as he witnessed a horrifying sight. Sarada, Wasabi, and Hanabi all gasped in terror. The thick smoke subsided further, and they saw that behind Sumire stood the sadistic General Ver, his reddened steel rapier embedded straight through Sumire's chest.

At the same time, Land of Earth shinobi came into view through the settling dust and cautiously approached her, still scared that she could possibly continue putting up a fight. They also prepared themselves to capture Boruto and the others.

Stunned speechless, Boruto could only watch as Sumire slowly staggered forward and removed herself from the sword. She dropped to her knees, deep crimson blood flowing from her abdomen and her mouth. By pure instinct, Boruto ran towards her, but was caught and tackled to the ground by Sarada. Mitsuki also helped Sarada hold him back down, while Wasabi sat on top of him, preventing him from getting up and going any further, while Hanabi stood on guard to dissuade the Iwa shinobi from attacking. "It's… it's no use now," Sarada tried to reason with Boruto. "I don't want to lose you too…"

"The Shigaraki heiress…" the vile Ver laughed and grinned maliciously. "Truly, it is unfortunate," Ver walked around the wounded Sumire, "that you were promised a power that was never truly yours." The old man knelt down and yanked her hair up to force her eyes to meet his. "The Gozu Tennou? The Nue? It was never meant to be yours." Sumire spat blood in his face, and so Ver stabbed her a second time in the chest with his rapier. Sumire gasped and struggled to breathe. Boruto tried to crawl to her, but to no avail. "But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways that you never could. To be specific, I will help Shogun Du Tertae destroy all the nations that oppose us using this power of yours. Yes… this is my destiny, after all."

All of a sudden, both iridescent and dark chakra poured out of Sumire's wounds and started to orbit around her, zooming around her in random directions. A lot of her chakra shot out in her friends' direction, and some even struck Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Wasabi, although Boruto thought that it felt more pleasant than painful for him. After a few seconds passed, the two distinct chakras danced around and surrounded Sumire, who gingerly stood up. She looked straight at General Ver and the Earth Army behind him. She approached them slowly, her eyes expressing serious killing intent. "You do believe in destiny…"

Now terrified, the Earth Army general whipped out his tri-shot pistol and pulled the trigger in panic, sending three bullets barreling to Sumire's chest. However, Boruto saw that Sumire seemingly tanked the bullets through sheer rage and probably adrenaline. Either that, or the bullets never made it to her. Sumire kept nearing Ver in her unhurried pace, her eyes burning now with hatred.

"What the fuck!" Ver asked, dumbfounded, confused, and paralyzed in fear. "How the hell are you still alive?"

No answer came. Sumire stabbed Ver through the heart with a quickly formed water sword in one hand. Not yet content with that, Sumire reactivated her purple chakra saber with her other hand and decapitated him within the same second. She kicked his falling head away, and it rolled towards his frightened men, while his body fell to the side at Sumire's feet.

"Sumire…?" Boruto squirmed about and clawed the ground with his nails, desperately trying to free himself from his friends and run to Sumire. With all his might, he tried one more time to break free, but it was no use, as Sarada and the others kept him down easily with their combined efforts.

Sumire took one last good look back towards Boruto and her friends, with blood still flowing from her chest wounds and her mouth. "Goodbye… I love you," she mouthed to them while giving the teary smile. Boruto recognized it as the same one from when she returned to the academy a long time ago after Nue's rampage. She then turned back to the rest of the Earth Army. The foreign Merikhan volunteers were now pointing their guns at her and screaming at her to stand down, while the Earth Shinobi commandos were preparing to kill her with their various earth-style jutsus. Sumire angled her trembling right hand upwards whilst keeping her arm on her chest level.

Boruto desperately reached out to the image of Sumire's back, though he could not move forward due to Sarada, Mitsuki, and Wasabi all restraining him. "NO! SUMIRE!"

"Annihilation." Sumire snapped her fingers. A flash of blinding white enveloped her, and she disappeared completely from her friends' sight. Not a moment later, that sudden illumination was followed by a deafening, dizzying, all-powerful shockwave that blew everyone away.

* * *

**_Again, if you like this chapter, please leave comments, reviews, likes, kudos, follows, favorites, subscriptions, etc!_**

**_I did tell you that it would be really happy and optimistic at the start, but it would be really sad at the end... =(_**

**_So... what are you feeling right now? Is anyone crying already? Huhuhu I cried multiple times writing this chapter too... But save your tears for Chapter 26: "In The Still Of The Night". The wounded and exhausted survivors are scattered along the mountain's slopes. The supertyphoon is bearing down on them with all of its wrath, and the wind is frigidly cold. Those who survived the Battle of the Fortress of Rem will have to stick together to weather out the storm. Unfortunately, not everyone will make it through the darkness of the night. Also, Chapter 26 will have Sumire's curtain call... So stay tuned for it! =D_**

**_Just a recap of the whirlwind of events that occurred: The_****_ aftermath of the BoruSumi kiss in Chapter 24 from both Sumire's and Boruto's perspectives, Sarada, Shikadai, and Inojin being real besties, the evacuation going slowly because of physical and mental fatigue, Sumire's writings, the chaotic Battle of the Fortress of Rem, Kakashi's sacrifice, Gengania and the others choosing to side with Konoha over Iwa (the eight of them will be somewhat important side characters in the future!), Sumire having "Rapid Atom and Fonon Dissociation" according to Denki, the rockslide trap, Sumire's Rear Guard action, General Ver's Sadistic Malice, and Sumire's Sacrifice. Wew, a lot happened here!_**

**_NOTE:_**

**_What Sumire wrote is actually the song entitled "Forever Fall" from the famous animated series "RWBY". And given that Sumire and General Ver had similar dialogue to Pyrrha and Cinder during their duel to the death, Sumire is partly Pyrrha Nikos here (Although, a better comparison here would be that Sumire is Sophie Lhant...)_**


	26. In The Still Of The Night

_**Welcome back to A Tale Of Grace! Ready for this tearjerker of a chapter? I hope so... I wasn't XD**_

_**Legit, I cried multiple times while writing this chapter. So I hope that the emotional impact carried over to the writing itself, and this chapter can make you all cry too... **_

_**Without further ado, this is Chapter 26! As always, feel free to leave comments and reviews, likes and kudos, follows and favorites or subscriptions and bookmarks! Thanks! ^_^**_

* * *

**Chapter 26: In The Still Of The Night**

The sky above and around Mount Tirad was dark and chaotic. The moon and stars were blocked in totality by the black cumulonimbus clouds that formed blooming towers thousands of meters high into the air. Swirling clouds and churning winds howled and hummed in unison, and the rain froze into snow and hail, with some of it re-melting back into liquid droplets, before hitting the ground.

Boruto laid unconscious by the unilluminated trailside, half-buried in the thick snow. After a long while of the combination of rain and ice pelting his exposed face, he eventually came to. At first, when he opened his eyes, he only saw black darkness around him, with only some white streaks of snow nearby. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he did not have snow blindness, but his vision was still very hazy and unclear; only colors and hues gave away the general shape of his surroundings. Then, shaking his head, Boruto tried to remember what had happened, since the last few memories were hazy at best. "Sumire!" Boruto called out, trying to find his friends, as he couldn't see anyone nearby. "Sarada? Mitsuki? Shikadai-"

At that moment, it all came back to him. His mind played back Sumire being impaled from behind and stabbed from the front by Ver, and Boruto's friends restraining him and keeping him from saving Sumire. Then to the unexplained streams of lightness and darkness that came from within Sumire, Ver shooting her to no visible effect, Sumire brutally killing Ver, and finally, Sumire disappearing before his outstretched arms in a blinding flash of light.

"No… Sumire!" Boruto screamed. "Sumire! Where are you?" He repeatedly shouted her name at the top of his lungs, occasionally calling out for Sarada, Mitsuki, Hanabi, and Wasabi, whom he remembered had been nearby. After a few minutes of pleading for help with his hoarse voice, Boruto saw a splash of red enter his blurry field of vision.

"Boruto!"

Boruto recognized that voice. "Sa… Sarada…"

"Yeah…" Sarada confirmed as she rushed to his side and dug him out from the pit of snow he had formed upon landing. "I'm here, Boruto." Now that she was right by his side, Boruto could make out with his own eyes, albeit roughly, the features of Sarada's face. He could tell that her eyes were filled with regret and pain, and that her fists were clenched tightly in anger, maybe even regret. But he decided not to press or question her about it, and so both of them settled into a long silence, neither one of them willing to say anything at all. Neither of them was brave enough to break the stillness between them, even to comfort the other.

Soon however, the weather started to worsen again. The winds began to flow once again, although it was a far cry from their full gale force intensity that the eye wall of a storm brought, and the mixture of powdery snowfall and light rainfall resumed anew. These signified to the two that while the eye wall of the storm was not overhead yet, it would be there quite soon. "We should follow the others down before the weather gets much worse," remarked Sarada. She slowly got on her feet and turned to help Boruto up. It was only then that she noticed the long trails of tears on her blonde friend's face. The tears were streaming down his cheeks and dripping onto his shirt and hands.

"Boruto… I'm sorry, but we need to go now." Sarada, who initially only offered her hand to Boruto, now went the extra mile and grabbed his hand on her own to pull him up.

But the moment Boruto got to his feet, he grabbed Sarada's shoulders and shook her angrily. He could no longer control his emotions. "Why didn't you do anything? You didn't even try to save Sumire!"

Taken by surprise at first, Sarada pushed Boruto away and harshly shoved him back to the ground. She retorted angrily. "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now! You don't know the things I know! Damn you!"

"…What do you mean?"

Sarada did not even attempt to reply to Boruto's question. Instead, she turned his back to him and shook her head, sighing sadly. "We can't stay here," she diverted the topic. "We need to find the others. They're still somewhere on this mountain. So let's go."

Boruto tried to reason with Sarada, "But Sumire… she's still up there…" Again, Sarada didn't bother to respond, and she began marching down the snowy trail alone. "Sarada!" Boruto called after her. "We need to go back up! We need to save her!"

"JUST STOP IT!" Boruto was taken aback by Sarada's furious rebuttal. Sarada continued climbing down the Spur Trail, while muttering, "Ughhh, still in denial…"

"Screw you then!" Boruto shouted back as Sarada's blurry red clothes disappeared from his eyesight completely. "Fine, I'll do it myself!" Boruto pushed himself on, and gingerly crawled on all fours back up the slope to the Rem Fortress.

With the familiar sights around him that he used as references, he now recognized where he was at that moment, and estimated that he was around 250 meters down the Spur Trail from where the blast occurred, and therefore less than 15 minutes away at his current pace. As he looked upwards to the crest of the pass, he saw a huge cloud of light grey pumice-like dust extending many miles upwards, illuminated by the serene moonlight. A much lower cloud of thick black smoke, caused by the burning of the Rem Fortress, glowed bright red and orange, and arched heavily northwards towards the Land of Grass. It looked almost like Mount Tirad had erupted violently, like it was actually a volcano in disguise.

As Boruto was midway up the sloping trail, the winds suddenly whipped up once again, and the storm announced its return as its most powerful winds moved in. The snow that used to feel like cold feathers on his skin now struck his face like stones, and the howling current of air buffeted his face and the mountain, sending a large plume of snow high into the air and over the sharply-defined ridges of the mountain. The air itself smelled sulfuric, almost acidic now, the black smoke of the fire interspersing with the relentless rain and the wildling wind of the supertyphoon. Now, even the normally simple task of breathing became a monumental mission in and of itself for the young Uzumaki, and so was putting one foot in front of the other. Yet despite the harshening conditions, Boruto single-mindedly crawled upwards on the snowy sloping path at an almost-literal snail's pace. He was desperate and determined to save Sumire; even if he had to drag Sumire all the way down the mountain by himself, he was willing to do it.

After what seemed like an eternity climbing up and dredging through the deepening snow, Boruto finally scrambled back to what used to be the Sephiroth Pillars, the narrowest neck of the mountain pass. Beyond the fallen stone spires, the Rem Fortress sat in ruins, with some of the stone structures such as the walls toppled by the powerful shockwave. Fires were still burning, but they were quickly being quenched by the eyewall of the storm.

However, the exact place where Boruto last saw Sumire, before she was enveloped in that blinding forceful light, was no longer there. In fact, he saw only a deep, massive crater that was very slowly filling up with snow and soon-to-be-frozen rainwater, along with some large sections from the collapsed pillars that ended up inside the hole.

The newfound depression, which was around 7 meters at its deepest, seemed to point away from where Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Hanabi, and Wasabi were. The crater was elongated in such a way that Boruto figured out almost immediately that most of the force of the blast was directed away from them and towards the Second Army of the Earth Nation, barely any physical traces of which Boruto could see.

"Sumire! Sumire, where are you? Can you hear me?" Boruto repeated these questions. He called out her name as he dug through the fresh snow in and around the crater. There was no sign of Sumire at all, although Boruto found Sumire's curved chakra saber embedded near the crest of the crater. After picking up the curved saber, he spotted Sumire's G18c auto-pistol a few meters away. The moment he picked that up, however, it finally hit Boruto that Sumire was no longer there with him, and he collapsed down to his knees. _"Was she blown off the pass completely by her own explosion," _Boruto wondered sullenly to himself, _"or by the winds of the supertyphoon before I got here? Did I not make it in time?"_

"Dammit… fuck! FUCK! Sumire… I failed you…" Boruto repeatedly pounded the settling snow and the exposed rock with his bare fist, quickly breaking his knuckles and bloodying them profusely. But at this point, he was numb to the core, and he no longer cared about the pain he felt, so he kept punching the solid unforgiving rock for minutes on end. His eyes gave up trying to hold back the raging storm inside, and he let all the tears flow. He screamed powerful, desperate, outraged, obscene, and agonized roars into the fading still of the night. And as the calm stillness of the night fully ceded control back to the raging supertyphoon, Boruto exhausted himself with his outburst, and combined with the sheer cold and the drastic reduction of oxygen that the storm had brought with it, he soon fell into unconsciousness.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Ten minutes of climbing down after she left Boruto behind, while the conditions were still somewhat serene, Sarada managed to catch up to Wasabi, Mitsuki, and Hanabi, who were still cautiously bringing Namida down on her stretcher.

After the massive explosion that Sumire caused, the four were flung about 150 meters down the trail, with Boruto falling and ending up almost 100 meters further down from them. Sarada, Wasabi, and Hanabi had all woken up almost one after the other. Mitsuki had regained consciousness some minutes before them, and kept watch over them as they lay there in the snow. It seemed to Sarada that even Mitsuki was in shock over what had happened. After all of them woke up and regained their bearings, they travelled back up about a hundred meters to where Namida's stretcher was safely placed behind a sturdy boulder. Thankfully, Namida was still there, since the shockwave did not hit her directly.

While the others stayed around Namida and tended to her, Sarada went on ahead and climbed the remaining 50 meters or so up to the narrow neck of the Sheltered Col, where the Sephiroth Pillars had been before they were brought down by their explosives. As she climbed closer and closer to the crest, she smelled and tasted the thick, sulfuric, suffocating smoke in the air, and she couldn't help but break into fits of coughing to clear her throat. When Sarada saw the huge crater where Sumire had once stood, she knew immediately what had happened to her best friend. She quickly descended back to the others, trying her hardest to keep her emotions hidden. But once Wasabi and Hanabi saw her contorted, sorrowful, anguished face, they too figured out for themselves what had happened. The three girls cried together and consoled each other wordlessly, while Mitsuki stared back at the pass in disbelief. For a long while, time seemed to stand still.

Eventually, after what seemed to be a lifetime, Wasabi and Hanabi resolved to not let anyone else on their team die. Once again, they slowly and carefully lifted Namida's stretcher, and Mitsuki helped out and wrapped his long arms around her neck, chest, and waist to keep her steady. They travelled down the Spur Trail together at first. However, Sarada let the others go on ahead while she tried to help Boruto and coax him to come down with her. Mitsuki also wanted to talk to Boruto, but Sarada ordered him to stay with what was left of Team 15 and keep Namida stabilized as they climbed down.

"Where's Boruto?" Hanabi, Mitsuki, and Wasabi asked simultaneously as they saw the Uchiha catching up to them. Sarada shook her head, a grim expression plastered on her face.

Hanabi screamed. She concluded that she had lost her dear nephew. "No! Boruto-"

"He's not dead," Sarada interrupted her. "But he doesn't want to come down yet. He's going back up… to save Sumire…"

"You didn't tell him that you already checked?" Mitsuki asked.

"No…" Sarada sighed in pain of loss. "I didn't tell him that. He pushed me away and insisted on going up for himself, so I left him behind."

"What exactly did you see up there?" Wasabi added.

"Nothing. Just a huge crater, and Sumire's weapons scattered about. No sign of her or any Earth shinobi soldiers anywhere, from where I was."

"But if Boruto doesn't come with us," Hanabi insisted, "he could die!"

"He knows that perfectly well," Sarada replied. "But he still wants to 'save' Sumire… He'd risk his own life, not to mention my life and all your lives too, for that… for a futile cause. I can't accept that… I don't want any more of us to die here…"

With that, Hanabi stopped arguing and turned away, frustrated that she could do nothing to help her nephew Boruto. The small group of five continued down the Spur Trail of Mount Tirad in relative silence. Namida was still unconscious due to her medically induced coma, while the others were unwilling to break the sad silence that surrounded them. But after only a few minutes, the serenity of the night was broken for them, when the supertyphoon returned with a vengeance and brought back to Mount Tirad all of its ferocious winds and blinding snow.

The second they reached the ascending dark storm clouds and walked into them, it seemed to Sarada as if they hit a solid wall at such high velocity. The strongest winds she had ever felt slammed into their faces and forced their eyes open, throwing snow and freezing-cold water droplets into their eyes, noses, mouths, ears, and wherever else the water could seep into. Because of those sudden gusts, balance was now hard to find, and their pace slowed even more so they could adjust and descend as safely as they could. Dark snow-filled clouds, which also smelled of soot and charred rock, blocked their vision as well. They could see no less than five meters in front of them, and even that visibility was dropping quickly.

"Wait up guys," Wasabi stopped and lowered the stretcher, with Mitsuki and Hanabi doing the same. "We should stop first. One step in the wrong direction, and we could all fall off a cliff."

"I'll scout ahead," the cat-like kunoichi continued. "Maybe I can reach Denki and the others who have the flashlights. Hanabi-sensei, please monitor Namida's condition. And Sarada, if ever it comes to it, do you still remember how to perform a cardiac massage?"

Sarada nodded. "Mom taught me the same time as you… For Namida?"

"Please… keep my Namida alive. She might need it."

"I'll keep her warm for you," Sarada half-jokingly replied, trying to lighten and reduce the tension everyone felt at the moment, even though she herself felt that she was at rock-bottom in terms of morale. "Don't worry, you and Mitsuki can go ahead. Just make sure to come back for us, got it?"

"Of course," Mitsuki tapped her on the shoulder. "We'll be back as soon as we find them."

Sarada placed her own hand on top of his hand, which remained on her shoulder. "Be careful, you two. Please…"

Mitsuki and Wasabi traversed deeper into the howling supertyphoon, and they quickly disappeared from Sarada's sight. They travelled slowly and cautiously, with the act of one foot stepping in front of the other taking about 5 seconds each, mostly to make sure that their next step would actually still land on the mountain and not onto thin air. Wasabi took point and was in front of Mitsuki, while Mitsuki wrapped one of his extended arms around Wasabi's waist. He was acting as a safety rope and as a harness to catch her in case she made a mistake with her step and fell down. His other arm was raised forward and upward, and his hand was conducting a relatively weak electric current. It glowed a faint yellow light that pierced a short distance through the thick raging storm clouds, which raised visibility and aided Wasabi's cat-eyes a lot.

After around 20 minutes, Wasabi's sharp eyes caught a flash of color that stood out within her wide field of vision. "Hold on," she gesturing to Mitsuki, pointing to where she saw it. "I think I see something."

"What do you see?" Mitsuki squinted his eyes, but as he was about two meters trailing behind Wasabi, he could not see much further ahead of her. And while his eyes were like those of a snake, they still could not compare to the eyes of a cat.

"Is anyone out here?" Wasabi shouted as loud as she could. "Can anyone hear me?"

Suddenly, the spots of green and purple that she was eyeing both moved, and there was a male voice that asked back, "Wasabi? Is that you?"

Wasabi recognized the tone of the voice as most likely Shikadai's. "Yeah! We're coming down, Shikadai! Do you guys have any flashlights? We need more light to descend safely."

"We do!" Shikadai replied as he approached closer to where Wasabi and Mitsuki were. "Denki and the others are here."

"I'll get the flashlights," another voice, which Wasabi concluded belonged to Inojin, added.

"Great!" Wasabi cheered. "Now we just need to get back to Sarada, Hanabi-sensei, and Namida, and guide them down safely."

"So we'll all go back up to where we left them?" Mitsuki asked. "You, me, Shikadai, and Inojin?"

"I have a better idea," Wasabi replied. "Sarada can take my place with carrying Namida's stretcher. You keep this one arm of yours wrapped around me while you return to them. Once you guys are making your way down, use the flashlights to light up the surroundings, and this arm will be like the rope that guides you back down to where we are now."

"That sounds like a good plan," the obviously exhausted Shikadai commented as he came into full view. The fresh snow was now sticking to his clothes and bare skin, and his breath was frosty. "Here are your flashlights… They're attached to this helmet. Wear it so your hands are free…"

Mitsuki wore the helmet and strapped it in tightly, making sure it would not be knocked off into oblivion by any gusts of wind. He kept his right arm fully wrapped around Wasabi, and the extra strong light helped him travel back up the Spur Trail much faster. Within five minutes, Mitsuki was right back where he and Wasabi had left Sarada, Hanabi, and Namida. Hanabi and Sarada were still awake, albeit shivering badly. "We met up with Shikadai and the others," he informed the two conscious kunoichi, and he shined his helmet flashlight onto their faces. "I'll help guide you to them."

Sarada thanked him and warmed her hands with her hot breath. She and Hanabi picked up Namida's stretcher and began to carry it down. While taking the lead to illuminate the trail and its surroundings, Mitsuki stabilized Namida once again by extending his left arm and wrapping it around her neck and chest. He used his right arm, which was still connected to Wasabi, to safely guide himself and the others down while in these blinding conditions. Eventually, Sarada, Mitsuki, and Hanabi, along with Namida, reached Wasabi and Shikadai, who then led them to the rest of the survivors of the Konoha squadron, who were huddling behind a small ridge of rock that sheltered them from the brunt of the storm's winds and cold.

"Where in the fuck were you guys?" Udon angrily snapped. "We waited for you all this damn time! And now we're all caught in this storm!"

"You should have gone ahead then," Sarada could not help but reply in annoyance and irritation. "I didn't need you to wait for us just for you to lecture us when we caught up."

"Why you-"

"Udon!" Hanabi interrupted him. "Shut up! Our focus needs to be on getting down the mountain, not arguing and fighting amongst ourselves!"

"Hanabi-sensei is right," Wasabi quickly threw her support towards Hanabi and Sarada. "Namida, Chocho, and the others won't last much longer in the middle of this storm. We need to get them down to Spur quickly!"

"Can't we just… wait out the storm… here?" Enko's wheezing breaths struggled out. "We can rest here… along the ridgeline… it's mostly sheltered anyway… so we're not that exposed…"

"We can't stay this high up the mountain for long," Denki explained. "Because of the supertyphoon, the air pressure is dropped even further… With less air pressure, there's less oxygen we can breathe… Combine that with our current high altitude, where there's already a lot less oxygen than we're used to… and we won't be able to take in nearly enough oxygen for our bodies… We'll die if we stay here even for a few hours…"

"Hypoxia," Hanabi and Wasabi added simultaneously.

"That's right," Denki nodded. "Having hypoxia will worsen our current situation. As our brains are starved of oxygen, our senses are dulled… Our decision-making processes and action processes become slower, more flawed, more prone to mistakes…"

Suddenly, a thought crossed Sarada's mind. She thought, _"Maybe this was what was really happening to Boruto back nearer to the Rem Fortress. Maybe he had hypoxia…"_ However, she did not think any further on it. Her focus now was on helping her friends who were in more dire straits, not to mention those who, in her mind, actually wanted to be saved.

Kakashi, who was still being assisted by the three young ladies from Iwa, concluded, "One wrong step here on this mountain can kill… Right, we need to descend now… We make for the town of Spur."

The clear majority of the squadron agreed with Kakashi, so the entire group decided to press on through the worsening storm. Mixed plumes of white snow and black soot blew directly into their eyes and mouths, and the moonlight and starlight that had guided the group earlier was now nowhere in sight, hidden by the storm clouds above and around them. All of the Konoha ninja were severely fatigued from all the fighting they had gone through over the past five days, so their progress was extremely slow.

Konohamaru, who held the one of the few remaining flashlights that worked, was again at the front of the group. However, he let Udon pass him and take point into the raging blizzard, as he saw that his former teammate was still outraged by Sarada talking back to him. The sensei of Team 7 then stepped aside to wait for Sarada, Wasabi, and Hanabi catch up to him. As a result, Moegi, Shikadai, and Inojin slowed down to the bottleneck that he had inadvertently caused. But it was a somewhat helpful as well, since they had to be extremely careful while transporting their injured teammate Chocho. Denki stayed behind them, and his powerful, custom-made torchlight shone and brightened the path with powerful light up to about ten meters ahead. Meanwhile, Iwabe supported Metal, who defiantly insisted on walking despite the agonizing pain he felt by putting any weight on his mangled legs. In the middle of the pack, the eight prisoners-of-war carried along Enko, Houki, Hako, Renga, and Kakashi. Hanabi, Mitsuki, and Sarada were bringing up the rear while also carrying the comatose Namida down safely.

Walking a short distance back up the trail towards them, Konohamaru approached them while shielding his eyes from the stinging winds. "I admire the conviction with which you spoke with," Konohamaru told Sarada. "But Udon is still my friend, and he is your senior… Maybe next time, try to calm or tone your emotions down a notch."

"Konohamaru-dear, there's no need for this," Hanabi interceded for Sarada, whom Konohamaru saw had an angry, pained expression on her face. "We're all worried about Boruto…"

Konohamaru looked around. "Wait, where is Boruto? And where is Sumire? Did I just not notice them go past me?"

Just then, they heard loud, roaring, cursing cries emanating from the mountain pass. It was muffled due to the supertyphoon and its shrieking wind, but it was distinct enough to be obviously Boruto's voice.

"He's still up there," Sarada sighed, her face pained with regret and hopelessness. "He went back up… to save Sumire…"

Konohamaru stopped in his tracks. "NO! Everyone, stop! We need to go back up right now! We need to save Boruto and help him save Sumire-"

"I'm not going to be the cause for anyone else to die!" Sarada snapped back at her own sensei. "He wanted nothing else but to go back up there for his futile cause… It's his choice to make, not mine or anyone else's to make for him!"

"Sarada! This is Boruto and Sumire you're talking about leaving behind! Boruto's your teammate! Sumire's your best friend! How can you-"

"She's dead!" Sarada burst in anger. "Sumire's… gone…"

"She was the one who triggered the rockslide," Hanabi added as she and Wasabi both gently let down Namida's stretcher and hugged Sarada. "She stayed behind and held off the Earth Army by herself…"

"Dammit… I couldn't… I couldn't stop her from giving her own life to… to give us a chance to survive… to get down the mountain… to live…"

"It's not your fault, Sarada…" Wasabi tried to comfort her. "Sumire… she knew what she was doing… We both know that." Then Wasabi heard murmurs and sobs behind her. She turned around and saw nearly the entire group looking back at them, their faces contorted in shock and sadness. She had not noticed that they approached during Sarada's outburst.

"What… exactly… happened?" Kakashi questioned them, even though talking was becoming harder for him to do.

"Sumire… she…" Wasabi was unable to continue her answer.

But Mitsuki took over for her. "Sumire did what she was originally made to do, what she was meant to achieve by her father. She blew herself up. But in doing so, she took the Land of Earth's Second Army down with her."

"How…" Inojin tried to put in into words, "how could she explode?"

"I don't know," Sarada admitted.

"Boruto and I thought that we had destroyed her Gozu Tennou seal years ago," Mitsuki explained, "but it seems that a remnant of it stayed inside her. And from what my father had told me, there may be a mechanism inside the Gozu Tennou which converts negative chakra into antimatter."

"When antimatter comes into contact with normal matter," Denki remembered all the previous research papers he had saved on his laptop, "they annihilate each other. Even a kilogram of antimatter, when it interacts with normal matter and annihilates, will release enough energy to wipe out the entire city of Konoha… It should be more powerful than any known jutsu… But it was all supposed to be hypothetical…"

"So she the one that caused the huge explosion earlier…" Shikadai grimly shivered. "And why it took you guys so long to get down here-"

Another blood-curling scream pierced the wind and echoed throughout the mountainside. Sarada and Wasabi felt that it did not sound remotely like Boruto's voice, but they considered the possibility that it may have been distorted by the acoustics of the mountain and by the wind's erratic flux.

"I think we should keep going," Moegi suggested.

Konohamaru objected immediately. "No! Boruto is still up there!"

"I want to save Boruto too," Hanabi held Konohamaru's arm. "But what about everyone else here? What about Namida, or Metal, or Chocho, or Hako? They all need treatment as soon as possible!"

"So we're leaving Boruto-" Before Konohamaru could finish, his own flashlight dimmed without warning and gave out entirely. "…Shit." Tense seconds passed before he shook his head. "We have other flashlights-" Mitsuki's helmet-mounted flashlight suddenly ran out of power and faded away too, and Shikadai's metal torch fizzled out moments after Mitsuki's. Only the light from Denki's own custom torch remained.

"My flashlight has less than an hour's worth of charge left," Denki said, looking at the green power bars on the flashlight's shaft. "I designed it so that it wanes gradually as the battery starts to run out, so it gives the user fair warning when it needs recharging."

"That's better than the other flashlights that just suddenly die once its battery runs out," Wasabi commented.

"We go down now," Kakashi ordered. "We go as far down as we can before Denki's torch goes out. Once it does, we look for any shelter nearby and wait out the storm. And once we bring our wounded to the hospital, only then do we come back for Boruto."

"But-"

"That's an order!" Kakashi interrupted Konohamaru. "Anyone who goes back up, I will label as a deserter."

Konohamaru protested loudly, "Kakashi-sensei, you're the one who taught me that anyone who disobeys orders may be scum, but that those who leave their friends and allies behind are even more scummy than those!"

Kakashi made his point crystal clear. "We're coming back for him, but only after we save the others who are in critical conditions. And furthermore, if we follow you and go back up there, we effectively leave our wounded to die! They won't survive these conditions for long, and you know it. And we need all the help we can get to safely descend, so we stick together. Got it?"

"So you're just assuming that Boruto will survive the harsher conditions high up on the mountain long enough so we can mount a rescue for him?"

Kakashi coughed up more blood before he could argue any further, and so two of the Iwa ladies who assigned themselves to him, Gengania and Conwi, guided him down the Spur Trail. On the other hand, Panga switched over to help Renga along, since Udon-sensei had long left him behind. Everyone else followed them soon after, though Denki rushed to the lead since he had the only remaining light.

"Boruto won't die of the cold or of the hypoxia," Hanabi tried to soothe and reassure Konohamaru.

Sighing, he replied, "I don't know… but I really hope you're right…"

At the head of the pack, Denki saw footsteps in the snow ahead of him. He knelt down on one knee to look closer, and so Iwabe, Metal, and the others passed around him. Adjusting his glasses, he recognized the pattern of the shoeprints as his sensei's shoes. "Just follow the footprints," he yelled to those around him. "It follows the safe path!"

"Got it," Iwabe responded. "With the footsteps, we wouldn't even need much light anymore to know where the path is!"

Wasabi, Sarada, Mitsuki and Hanabi, once again brought up the rear as they were handling Namida in her delicate situation. Sarada asked Denki, "Whose footprints are those?"

"Udon-sensei's," Denki answered as he got back to his feet.

Mitsuki clarified, "You mean Udon-sensei went ahead of us?"

"I don't think he waited around for that conversation we just had," Denki chuckled. "I mean, he was really mad at you and all, Sarada. Don't get me wrong though, I'm on your side on this."

"He's still probably mad at you for showing him up," Hanabi reasoned to Sarada. "He can easily feel disrespected."

"It's been like that since he was a kid," Konohamaru added, "since he always felt overlooked or counted out, even in our team."

"I don't really care anymore," Sarada shook her head. "Let him be mad at me. It's not important right now… I just don't want anyone else to die. Not Boruto, Namida, Chocho, or any more of us. That's where my focus is now. Sumire was much too high a price to pay for our lives already."

Denki nodded in agreement. He then looked at Wasabi and clenched his fists. "I wish we didn't test Sumire in the first place, or that we could have thought of lying to her about the results we got."

"Wait a minute… Hold on…" Wasabi mumbled. Sarada took one glance at her face and knew that something was clearly bothering her.

"Wasabi, what is it?"

Wasabi stopped, her eyes beginning to widen, as if she had just realized that something horrible happened. "I'm trying to remember… Did Udon-sensei have a light with him?"

"I can't remember…" Denki turned and tilted his head slightly. "Why'd you ask?"

Mitsuki's face showed his confusion. "Then how do you know this is the safe path if he had no light?"

Denki opened his mouth to reply, _'because he's my sensei and I trust him?'_ But he realized what they were hinting at. "It's… not…"

Wasabi left Namida to the stabilizing grasps of Hanabi and Mitsuki. She then pointed Denki's powerful flashlight down the path that the others were taking and strained her sharp cat-eyes to peer as far as she could through the raging storm. It was faint, but she could make out Iwabe and Metal at the head of the group. They were walking in a straight line towards what looked to Wasabi to be merely clouds and not snow.

"HOLY SHIT!" Wasabi exclaimed. "They're going to fall off a cliff!"

"WHAT?" Denki, Sarada, and the others reacted in horror. Mitsuki unwrapped his arms from Namida and sprinted, following the now footstep-riddled snowy trail. Sarada and Denki ran frantically behind him, while Wasabi, Hanabi, and Konohamaru stayed behind Namida's stretcher to keep moving it down the trail.

"Everyone!" Sarada shouted as loud and clear as she could manage to. "Stop where you are right now! Don't take another step!"

_"__We're following our sensei's steps,"_ she heard Metal reply. _"Don't worry about it!"_

"You'll fall down the mountain!"

Iwabe's pissed voice followed. _"This is our Udon-sensei you're talking about, Sarada! Just because he disrespected you a while ago, doesn't give you the right to disrespect him back, dammit! Keep walking, everyone! No, there's no problem! We're making good progress!"_

"Dammit!" Sarada cursed angrily. "They're not stopping!"

The three of them ran by Kakashi, the newly defected women from Iwa, and the others who had actually heeded their warning. As they passed Shikadai, Inojin, and Moegi, who were struggling to carry Chocho, Denki pleaded with his teammates, "Metal! Iwabe! Stop! Please listen to me!"

_"__No Denki! You stop listening to her! Trust me! We're your team, not… Wait-AHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

They finally caught sight of the two. They were both teetering on the edge of an icefall. Iwabe tried to regain his balance, but in doing so, he let go of Metal. Metal's right leg gave out on him and snapped once again at the multiple weakened fracture zones. Metal screamed in pain and crumpled into Iwabe, and both of them fell off the rocky cliff.

Mitsuki dove to the very edge of the snow after them and extended his arms after them, hoping to catch the two falling shinobi. Meanwhile, Sarada and Denki each grabbed one of Mitsuki's feet and put all their body weight on them. "Sarada, we need to belay Mitsuki!"

"Belay?"

"We'll be like ice axes to stop him from falling any further! He's going to get jerked off the mountain when he catches them!"

"Got it!" The two of them buried their entire hands into the snow, which stung their skin because of how cold it was to touch, and braced themselves for a sudden pull. And they did so not a moment too soon, because Mitsuki was dragged off the cliffside the moment his arms caught the two falling ninja. Both Sarada and Denki were nearly pulled off too, but their combined belaying actions on the snow prevented them and Mitsuki from slipping off the edge entirely.

"Good idea, Denki…" Sarada exhaled in relief. She then asked a dangling Mitsuki, "Do you have both of them?"

"Yes, I caught them…" Both Sarada and Denki began pulling Mitsuki back up by his heels, since his feet were the only remaining parts of his body still firmly on the rock and snow of Mount Tirad. He was hanging upside-down and was staring at the 2000-foot fall into the Land of Rain that awaited him, although because of the storm's winds and the blinding mix of watery snow and ashen soot that came along for the ride, Mitsuki could barely see anything below him. He couldn't even see Iwabe or Metal or the ends of his extended arms, but he could just feel that he had snatched them from the jaws of the abyss.

When Denki and Sarada helped Mitsuki enough that all of his body was now once again on the firm mountainside, Mitsuki began retracting his arms as well to lift the two stray ninja that he had successfully caught.

Iwabe's head popped into view first. His face was bluish-white from shock and getting the wind knocked out of him. He was gasping for air and hyperventilating, for Mitsuki had wrapped his left arm tightly around his waist, but at least he was alive and unhurt for the most part. The moment he hit the soft snow, he fainted. On the other hand, Mitsuki knew that Metal had been tumbling in midair when he caught him, and that he had latched on one of his legs. He was worried about the possibility that he caused further damage to either of Metal's legs, and if ever he did, that they would need to be amputated once they get to a proper hospital.

However, when Mitsuki's other arm fully reverted back to its normal length, a horrifying sight presented itself to the group. Mitsuki held in his right hand only the lower part of the right leg of Metal Lee, and nothing more. The bloody limb, which was still clothed in the familiar green jumpsuit that only Metal and his father wore, extended from the foot to three-fourths up the shinbone, with some bones and tissues that stuck out from the stump.

Denki and Sarada stared blankly in shock, and so did Mitsuki. Only the three of them knew at that moment that Metal had fallen to his death, as Iwabe was unconscious beside them. Even though he wanted to remain strong, Denki couldn't help but let the tears fall down his cheeks. His knew that his teammate and close friend was gone, and he was almost sure that his sensei had fallen too, since his footprints ended there. He began to choke and snivel. "Why? WHY? Why is this happening? Fuck, I couldn't save them-"

"Shh…" Sarada enveloped him in an embrace to show that someone else was there for him, that someone understood the magnitude of pain that he was feeling. Denki's fingers angrily curled into Sarada's shoulders, but she endured it. Those trails of water threatened to freeze on Denki's face, so she wiped them away quickly with the sleeve of her warm wooly outfit. She then pulled his head towards her shoulder, and the rest of his tears fell there. "We… We can't stay here for long…"

Mitsuki also wrapped his arm around Denki to help comfort him. He whispered to Sarada, "What should we do with the leg?"

"I don't want the others to see it. It'll affect everyone else negatively too… We should bury it in the snow here."

"Denki," Sarada turned to the Kaminarimon, her voice empathetic. "I need you to be strong, at least until we get to Spur or Ame. Don't tell anyone else what happened yet. If you can, save your tears until we're in the clear. Can you do that for me?"

It took a long time for Denki to respond, but he eventually did with a slight nodding of his head. His eyes still red from crying, he lifted his face from Sarada's shoulder. "I… I can…"

The three hastily buried the severed limb of Metal Lee, shoveling snow over it with their bare hands to form a mound of sorts. To mark the partial grave, Denki placed a small stone on top of the snow pile and pressed down on it to ensure that it would stay in spite of the gusts buffeting the mountain. "I'm sorry Metal… We were… too late…" Afterwards, they dragged the fainted Iwabe back up the Spur Trail, as he and Metal had completely missed the turn of the trail and walked right to the edge of the mountainside due to the blizzard-like conditions. Soon they reunited with the rest of their group, which had stopped in their tracks because of Sarada's warning.

Denki, whose reddened eyes were returning to their normal color, noticed that his electric torch was beginning to ever so slightly wane in intensity. "My flashlight is about to run out of power," he informed the others. "I have maybe fifteen more minutes before it runs out of battery."

"I think for now," Sarada suggested, "with what little power Denki's torch still has, we should find and take shelter from the storm… It's too dangerous that we keep descending without any light to guide the way… We should wait out the bad weather before going further."

"A bivouac," Denki clarified. "It's possible."

"What you're suggesting is risky," Shikadai analyzed. "But I agree."

As the group stood up and labored on through the fiercest storm they have ever experienced, Denki's flashlight waned more and more. It became too dark even for Wasabi and her cat-eyes to distinguish caves from the backdrop of the darkened mountain. However, the group stumbled upon a small and jagged boulder silhouetted in the darkness of the early morning.

"This will have to do," Sarada sighed. The exhausted and freezing Konoha regiment, along with their wounded and their asylum-seekers, huddled around in the shadow of their big rocky cover. They hid behind the stone so that they would be shielded from the brunt of the storm's fury.

Hanabi shivered while hugging Konohamaru and keeping warmth. "I just hope we have enough strength left later, that we can continue the journey down after the storm passes over us."

Inojin, who had mostly kept quiet after learning that Sumire had sacrificed herself and that Boruto had gone back up to the fortress for her, suddenly spoke up. "I have an idea for getting Boruto-"

"What happened to getting down the mountain as soon as possible?" Konohamaru questioned him.

Sarada covered for Inojin. "Udon-sensei happened." Silence from the entire group followed.

"The second scream that sounded that it came from lower down rather than higher up the mountain," Wasabi connected the dots for her friends. "That scream did not sound like Boruto's voice at all, or the first scream that we all knew was from him."

"Metal and Iwabe were following Udon-sensei's footprints," Sarada added, although she kept in mind not to reveal anything about Metal's whereabouts, even if she was asked about it. "And they almost fell of the side of the mountain. There are no more footsteps to follow… They stopped there at the edge of the cliff."

"He must have been the one who screamed the second time…" Mitsuki rationalized. "In the darkness of the night and the violence of the storm… he must have fallen…"

Fittingly, Denki's flashlight finally ran out of power, leaving the group freezing and blind in the totality of the darkness.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"Boruto… Boruto Uzumaki…"

Boruto's eyes opened upon hearing the eerily familiar voice. Immediately, he realized he was no longer on Mount Tirad or the Sheltered Col, since all around him was an alien landscape. The sky was hued an extremely deep purple, and the shining stars above seemed to travel so quickly through the dark heavens that they left longer and longer trails of their light behind them. To Boruto, the scene very much resembled some long-exposure photographs of the nighttime sky that he had seen before, but in this case, the stars were actually moving instead of being static on a screen. The very ground he laid on felt as if it had both the rigidity of a solid and the flow of a liquid at the same time, since it sunk down wherever he stepped on. It was a mirror, a perfectly serene lake, and when Boruto looked at it, he saw his own clear reflection on it. In the far distance was an abyss that was darker even than pitch black. Pure darkness. Still, he looked around for the voice he had heard, but found no trace of anyone else around.

"Is this… a dream?" Boruto conjectured. "Or maybe a hallucination?"

"This is neither dream or mere imagination. This is real."

Boruto turned around and saw Momoshiki Otsusuki right in front of him. He let out a slight yelp and stepped back in disbelief and shock; he was the last person Boruto was expecting to see.

"What… What is this? This can't be real. You're dead."

"I may no longer have a physical body," Momoshiki explained while floating around Boruto, "but I live on inside you, the one who defeated me. I am your vassal for now, Boruto Uzumaki, as you are my vessel. But do not fear. I will honor your victory by not taking over your body for my own goals. I merely grant you the use of the Karma Seal, nothing more, nothing less."

"But why are you here?"

"I appear before you now, Boruto Uzumaki, to remind you of the prophecy I had made regarding you. How long has it been since then, around three years or so?"

"Your prophecy… involving me?"

"You do not remember… How sad, I warned you before not to forget." Momoshiki recounted, "I told you that you would have to bear the weight and the fate of the world on your shoulders, and that along the way, you would be forced to endure more suffering and loss than anybody else in the history of this entire universe. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough back then, so allow me to elaborate further. You will be forced to watch on as your friends and your loved ones will be taken from you. You are destined to lose the very people who love you the most, the very people you love the most, not just once but many times over. And mind you, this is not the end, nor even the beginning of the end of your suffering and pain. This is only the end of the beginning."

"Shut up!" Boruto screamed. "Damn you and your prophecy! You can shove it up your ass!"

Boruto tried to float away from him, since there was barely any gravity holding him to the ground. He was swimming in the thick peculiar air, his feet skimming along the surface of the plain, but Momoshiki easily glided back to his side. "If this is what it means for me to become a hero, then I don't want to be a hero anymore. If being a hero requires me to step over the bodies of the people I love, the very people I'm trying so hard to protect, I don't want to be a hero."

Momoshiki laughed and sighed in pity for Boruto. "I too have suffered too many losses and defeats in my lifetime… I know exactly how you feel-"

Suddenly, Boruto punched at Momoshiki's face, although his fist merely phased through. "You have no idea how I feel! How could you even have the fucking gall to say that? The girl who loved me for the longest time, the girl that I was also starting to have feelings for… She died right in front of my eyes! Fuck your prophecy! I'll make sure it doesn't happen!"

"Hahaha…" Momoshiki slowly dissipated and disappeared from Boruto's eyes. "This is only the end of the beginning… This is only the first of many…" he repeated these words until he faded away entirely.

"Damn him," Boruto cursed in rage as he was left all alone. Trying to look for a way out, he moved in a straight line along the water-like floor. He propelled himself through the air and along the ground with his best attempt at a breaststroke, as if he was swimming in a river or a pool. Eventually, he stopped close to the edge of this world as he saw it. Beyond the end of the reflective surface below him was a black abyss of nothingness, nothing of which could be seen. Stopping before the cliff, Boruto grit his teeth in frustration, since he saw no possible exit to this weird dimension. He doubled back to look elsewhere when he heard the voice he longed to hear, the voice he wanted so desperately to hear once again.

"Boruto-kun!"

"S-Sumire!" Seeing her appear to his left, Boruto breaststroked as fast as he could to make his way to Sumire. Sumire closed the distance and met Boruto halfway, but with a movement more reminiscent to freestyle swimming. When the two met in the middle, Boruto enveloped Sumire in a warm embrace, nuzzling and burying his face in Sumire's neck. "I hope this is real… is it?"

"Yes. I'm really here…" While Sumire tightened her grip around Boruto's back, she felt a flood of tears wetting her left shoulder.

"Boruto-kun… why are you crying?"

"I'm so sorry…" Boruto sobbed. His knees buckled and he gradually collapsed, although Sumire lowered him carefully and helped him sit down on the reflective ground. "Sumire, I failed you… I wasn't strong enough… or fast enough… or brave enough… I couldn't save you… I'm useless."

"No you're not, my dear Boruto-kun." Sumire lifted his chin from her shoulder, gently caressed his cheek, and wiped away his streaming tears. "Listen Boruto," she sweetly reassured him, pulling him deeper into her arms and stroking his banana yellow hair. "Please don't blame yourself for what happened to me. It was my decision, and mine alone."

"But why did you choose to do it? Sumire, why did you sacrifice yourself for all of us? I never wanted you to…"

Sumire sighed in sadness and looked away. "I don't want to talk about that right now. But if you must find out, Sarada knows the truth, and so do Wasabi and Denki… I'm sure you will know it in time as well…"

She trailed off and closing her eyes. "All will be all right in time."

Boruto was hesitant to push the topic further, seeing that Sumire clearly did not want to tell him anything. He decided to move onto another important, pressing issue. "Where are we? What is this place?"

"I don't know either," Sumire tilted her head. "It could also be what remains of my dimension long ago. Or it could be your mind space, where you would normally wander off to in your thoughts and dreams."

"This doesn't look anything like the dimension you and Nue built out of dark charka though. In fact, it looks more like the one Nue built more recently out of normal charka, just because it has so much more color."

"That's why I'm not sure either," Sumire shrugged. "Maybe this is now what it looks like after it collapsed on itself? But true, it's more likely that this is your dream space."

"So," Boruto wondered out loud, "How can we escape this place?"

Sumire hummed in thought. "If this is actually you dreaming, or if you're unconscious, I'm sure you'll be back in the real world the moment you wake up?"

Boruto's heart started pounding nervously in his chest. He still had so much to talk about, let alone confess, to Sumire. But he was now afraid, because this could all be taken away from him at the snap of a finger.

"Sumire… before this ends… before I wake up prematurely or anything, I really need to tell you something important… just like what you told me…"

As Sumire leaned into him further, Boruto looked her directly in the eyes. Taking her hands into his own, he slowly confessed his feelings in a gentle voice. "I love you… Sumire."

She smiled back at him, kissed him on the lips quickly, and smiled. "I love you too, Boruto-kun… Thank you so much for everything…"

The two sat there a few steps before the end of the plane, looking out at the black opaqueness of the dark abyss before them. Boruto pondered, "What do you think is down there?"

"It could be purgatory, if you believe in such a thing."

"Do you?" Boruto glanced at Sumire. "Do you believe in the afterlife?"

Sumire hesitated. "I… I don't believe in an afterlife. But if this is the afterlife, I think I might just forever fall in this abyss…" She chuckled, trying to make light of the question. "I guess that might not be that bad either. I mean, I've been falling for you for so long and that wasn't a bad thing at all." Boruto merely rolled his eyes and smiled.

"We're not really in any rush," Sumire asked Boruto, "are we?"

In his desire to prolong this moment, Boruto shook his head frantically. "Okay then," Sumire giggled. "I'm sorry if my voice won't be anywhere as good as Namida's, but I'll try my best."

Boruto was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

_"__Through the darkness,"_ Sumire began to sing emotionally, _"I can see your light. And you will always shine, and I can feel your heart in mine… Your face I've memorized, I idolize just you…" _

Boruto relaxed as he listened to Sumire's beautiful voice and the meaningful song, "You're Still You", a love song that he had heard a few times before.

_"__I look up to everything you are…" _In a split second, Boruto's mind flashed back to when his father trying to sing it to his mother for their fifteenth anniversary celebration less than a year ago. Nearly a third of Konoha actually attended and were physically present, while most of the rest watched on television or online. Those who watched the party witnessed Naruto, with a lot of shadow clones helping him out, singing a medley of love songs to Hinata, who was sitting with him on the stage. Boruto recalled that his dad more or less pulled it off, and although he ended up forgetting some lines and having to adlib some lines of his own, he easily managed to make Hinata blush madly, fidget around in her seat, and cry. He always felt happy whenever he thought of just how much his parents love each other.

Sumire continued her song gracefully._ "In my eyes you do no wrong. I've loved you for so long, and after all is said and done… You're still you. After all… You're Still You…"_

After going through that nostalgic memory, Boruto remembered that he also was there with his whole group of friends when Namida sang this same song to Wasabi for their first monthsary. He grinned contentedly while reminiscing the group helping Namida hold a secret candlelight dinner by the grassy riverbanks to surprise Wasabi. It was another one of those special experiences that Boruto always looked back to in happiness.

Boruto served as Namida's waiter and Sumire served as waitress for Wasabi, while Sarada and Shikadai stood as the "front desk", making sure everything that night was going according to plan. Sarada had to work especially hard at keeping all the candles lit, because that night was quite windy and gusty. Iwabe, Inojin, and Himawari were all chefs for the night, and they cooked up the delicious appetizers and main course meals. Meanwhile on the other hand, Ryogi made special cold desserts for both the two lovebirds, two extra large banana splits with twice as much ice cream and milk. Denki was in charge of playing mood music on some of his speakers, of which he did a lovely job.

Meanwhile, the entertainment aspect of the group effort, a stand-up comedy skit involving Chocho, Mitsuki, and Metal bombed hard, with Metal on one hand getting stage fright and freezing at the very start of the performance. On the other hand, Mitsuki just did not get the concept of comedy, and so he seriously deadpanned all of his rebuttals to Chocho's for-once-actually funny jokes, much to Chocho's chagrin, stress, and even anger. However, it turned out to be such a bad skit that it was also such good comedy, and by the end, Wasabi and Namida howled with laughter and made their own memes of the performance, which until now have persisted within their group of fifteen friends. To this very day, Boruto still doubts whether Mitsuki understands what the word "funny" really means, but that night he couldn't argue with the results.

But the undisputed main event of that night was Namida singing "You're Still You". Everyone, not just Wasabi, was left enthralled, both by Namida's voice and the emotion with which she put into the song that was already loaded with meaningfulness. It left Wasabi crying and emotional at the end of the night, hugging Namida and promising almost-literally to never let her go physically. It was Namida's special love song, of course, was what set the benchmark and bar high for their future monthsary and anniversary dates, most of which Namida has somehow managed to surpass so far.

But at this very moment, as he listened observantly to Sumire's rendition, Boruto realized that even though it was more improvised compared to how he heard the song go before, it gave more emphasis to her feelings. He closed his eyes and absorbed the full beauty of Sumire's loving melody. _"You walk past me, and I can feel your pain… Time changes everything, but one truth always stays the same: You're still you. After all… You're still you." _

Boruto gripped Sumire's hand tighter as she approached the emotional crux and climax of the song. _"I look up to everything you are. In my eyes, you do no wrong… And I believe in you although you never asked me to… I will remember you, and what life put you through… And in this cruel and lonely world, I found one love… You're still you… After all… You're still you…"_

Enjoying the moment, Boruto put aside his goal of finding a way out of this weird dimension he had found himself in. After she finished singing, a long and contented silence fell upon them. Boruto's hands remained interlocked with Sumire's, and the two of them looked towards the mesmerizing, comet-like trails of starlight above.

"I just want this moment to last forever," Boruto admitted. "I would really like to stay here with you for the rest of our lives, if I could."

Sumire turned her face toward him, and then gently shook her head. "Boruto-kun… I want you to be happy for the rest of your life… to truly live enjoy your life to the fullest… If you have trouble moving on from me, you can forget all about me."

"What are you talking about?" Boruto reprimanded her. "I would never forget you, Sumire! I can never forget you! You're one of my best friends! You'll always be my class rep! And I love you, and you love me…"

"Boruto-kun… I… thank you…" After another short silence, Sumire moved her hand over to touch Boruto's hand and reassure him, but she saw in his distracted facial expression that he was thinking about something important, and that he wanted to talk about it. "What's the matter, Boruto?"

Boruto squeezed Sumire's hand. "Sumire, I'm so sorry about this too… I hadn't realized until literally hours ago that you've been in love with me for all these years now… Shikadai and Inojin told me about it just after you confessed to me… I probably made you suffer by waiting that long… It's all my fault for being so damn dense…"

Sumire answered with her gentle voice, "That's what was bothering you?" She thought about it, chuckled, and then looked back into Boruto's big blue eyes. "I suppose that on the outside, like to Shikadai, Chocho, and the others, it looked like I was suffering and hurting inside. But as far as I'm concerned, these have been the happiest years of my life."

"Six or seven years ago," she continued, "when I attacked Konoha for my father, when everything went horribly pear-shaped for me, I could have been tossed to the winds… Maybe I should have been killed that day. But instead, because of you and everyone else, I got to stick around, make so many good memories, and actually experience bonds of friendship and love. I was assigned to Team 15 with Wasabi and Namida and Hanabi-sensei, I was able to go on so many missions to so many places, and even become a scientist-kunoichi under Katasuke. I was so happy…"

Boruto raised his eyebrow. "Pear-shaped?"

Sumire nodded and giggled. "Like an big butt? An ass, like you would normally say. It would be, 'When everything when to shit', when you say it."

Boruto let out a short laugh when she said the words "big butt", "ass", and "shit", words that he wouldn't expect Sumire to say. "I'm eternally gratefully to you, you know Sumire? You'll always be one of those special people who always believed in me and supported me, no matter what I did, no matter how badly I screwed up sometimes. You were one of those who helped me change and mature! Without you, I could still be that stupid, arrogant, spoiled brat I was when we were in the Academy. I could have even been expelled without you reining me in and constantly putting in a good word for me to Shino-sensei and Iruka-sensei. You saved me from going down a path I'd regret."

Sumire shook her head. "No Boruto, you silly. You saved me so many times, far more than I saved you. You saved me from the fate that my Tanuki had selfishly chosen for me. You saved me from being killed by Gadon's mob. And you've saved me multiple times from my own depression and self-hatred. And for all of that, I'm forever grateful to you."

Sumire gripped Boruto's hands and squeezed them as well. Boruto focused on putting all of his senses in overdrive, to extend every last millisecond from these precious moments he shared with his Sumire.

"Do you still remember," Sumire asked Boruto while staring into the cold and abyssal blackness, "when we went on that trip to Denki's camping and fishing resort?" Boruto nodded. "Before we all caught the giant rainbow carp, do you remember the promise I made to you and Sarada? That I would devote all the power and skill I could muster to protect you guys, just as you once did for me…" Sumire gave a sweet smile as she continued, "I hope… I really hope that I was able to fulfill my promise."

"You did so much more than just enough! But Sumire, I want you to enjoy life and have fun with me and Sarada and all of our friends when we go back. It won't be the same if you're not with us… I want to live with you by my side more often."

Sumire gazed into Boruto's eyes and sweetly caressed Boruto's cheeks, a warm smile radiating from own face. "My dear Boruto-kun… please take care of everyone while I'm gone. And most importantly, please take care of yourself too, got it? It'll be a long while before I can personally check up on you and make sure that you're alright-"

Boruto grabbed her shoulders, and his blue orbs locked in on her purple orbs, and vice versa. "No… Sumire, come back with me! Please!"

"Boruto-kun… I don't think I can go back with you now."

"Please… no… What's going to happen to you?"

"I don't know… Maybe I'll fade away from this life, from most people's memories… Or maybe, if I'm lucky enough, I'll linger on in all of you. I'm not sure. But you know what? I'm not even thinking of that. Right now, I'm remembering all of the memories we had. All the good and fun times I had with you, Sarada, Wasabi, Namida, Mitsuki, Chocho…"

She trailed off for a few seconds. "And when the time comes… I'll be thinking of you, and the special moments and memories we had together-"

"NO!" No matter how hard he tried, Boruto could not hold back his tears any longer, and he bawled his eyes out again. "No! Dammit Sumire! I'm not leaving you! I want to stay here with you!"

In desperation, Boruto gave Sumire an ultimatum. "Either we both go back, or I'm not going back at all!"

"Boruto-kun! You still have your whole life ahead of you. Don't waste it on me, or even on the memory of me."

"It's not a waste when it comes to you," Boruto insisted. "It's never been a waste to me! It never will be! Sumire… I really don't want to forget you, ever… I love you… Please Sumire," he tearfully begged, "Don't leave me… don't leave me behind…"

"Fine then," Sumire huffed in defeat, but then quickly grinned enthusiastically, as Boruto would often do to encourage her and their other friends. "Then always remember that I'll always be here for you, watching over you. Whether you feel happy or sad, just keep in mind that I'm right here." Sumire pointed directly at Boruto's wildly beating heart. "And that I'll always be sharing in your happiness and in your sadness."

"I will…" Boruto pulled her into the deepest hug he had ever given anybody in his life, even deeper than the hug he had given her on her birthday, after the mob attacked and tried to spoil the party. However, this time, Sumire did not struggle. Instead, she deepened the longing embrace.

"I love you Boruto-kun." Sumire gave Boruto a kiss on the lips one last time, and afterwards whispered in his ear, "Now go back to the others."

Boruto began to rise to the violet sky filled with bright star trails of all colors. He held on to Sumire's hands as long as he could, but eventually he was forced to let go of her. Still reaching out for her, he kept eye contact with the purple-haired kunoichi, even as he was floating further and further up. Sumire looked on at the slowly ascending Boruto, who was returning to where he needed to be, and she beamed an encouraging yet teary smile that she hoped he could still see.

With Boruto slowly becoming out of sight above her, Sumire's mind now began to replay its life's most fond memories: Her mother's soothing voice, her mother brushing her hair, and Old Lady Konan bringing her into the tower when she was a young child stuck in Ame. It moved onto more recent memories, such as her dinners and conversations with Sarada, her missions and her stargazing nights with her team, taking care of her Nue, the sleepovers she had with Sarada, Chocho, Wasabi, and Namida, as well as the fireworks celebrations where the girls all went together, and hangouts with her entire group of friends, including her recent birthday party.

And then it zeroed in on Boruto. The recollections now flashed before her eyes. She remembered the first time she saw him entering their old classroom, the way he acted like he was a superstar. She remembered the first time they spoke to each other properly, when they were tasked with repairing the Hokage Faces that he broke on his first day. She remembered all the times that Boruto saved her, and the times that she saved him. She remembered the very first time her fingers touched his, the very first time their hands clasped together. And she remembered his warm squeezing hugs and his chaste, loving kisses, the latter of which seemed so long ago but was in reality only a few hours earlier.

"It was… No, it is my destiny… to be in love with you, Boruto-kun… To protect you at all costs. At least, that was part of my destiny…"

Sumire stepped backwards, her heels feeling the edge of that world. "My father… gave me my destiny, or a big part of it, a long time ago, and it's come true too… Even if I run from it or hide from it, I would never escape it… Kashin Koji was right indeed." She sighed. "I guess there are just some things that we can't overcome or run away from forever. But…" She took one last look at Boruto, who was now but a speck as small as some of the stars in the background. "In the end, it all turned out okay."

Sumire Kakei closed her eyes and let herself fall backwards into the abyss. As she fell into the darkness that seemed eternal, she heard the faint voice of Boruto crying out for her…

*******XXXXXXX*******

"SUMIRE!" Boruto reached out towards his vision of Sumire, which was quickly fading to black. His eyes suddenly opened and he saw that he was pointing nearly straight down to the mountains far below. He now felt as if he was falling to the ground from high above. Then just as quickly, he felt sharp talons gripping him around the chest and legs, and those talons yanked him back to a horizontal position.

"OYY! DAMMIT BORUTO! You almost got us both killed here! Fucking hell man, get a grip of yourself!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Boruto turned to the unknown voice, which was distorted by the howl of the storm's powerful gusts, and saw Inojin, stressed out and angry, piloting his white ink bird.

"Should I drop you instead?" Inojin sarcastically clapped back. "You're the only reason why I can't glide this guy properly, even at this height and these rough conditions. You're basically dead weight!"

Boruto looked away from Inojin and shook his head. Inojin continued with his voice dripping in sarcasm, "I could just tell the others that you were already dead when I got to you-"

"I'm so sorry… Inojin…"

Inojin was taken aback. Boruto had actually apologized to him. _"Something was off about all of this,"_ Inojin thought to himself.

"Boruto…" Inojin's voice became noticeably kinder and softer. "Umm… Just don't move and shift your weight around too much. I can barely fly this guy with our combined weight, the thin air at this altitude, and these strong and unpredictable wind currents. One wrong move, and I can suddenly lose control, and we crash into the ground. We'll both probably die if that happens, understand?"

"Yes…" Boruto's sullen, depressed voice was barely audible above the deafening thunder cracks and the enraged winds of the typhoon.

"Plus, you better not make me lose control and crash," Inojin further quipped. "I'm risking my life to save you. The last thing I want is to make Himawari sad because I wasn't able to save her dear brother. In the same vein, you better not make Himawari twice as sad, if both of us die."

Instead of the angry reply that Inojin expected, Boruto burst into tears and sobs once again. This time, Inojin could make out the words between his cries. "Sumire… No… I love you… Sumire…"

Upon hearing Boruto cry out for Sumire, Inojin figured out just how badly affected Boruto was affected by Sumire's death. "Shit," Inojin sincerely apologized. "I'm sorry too… I'm so insensitive… I'll just stop talking; I'll probably make things worse the more I try to speak."

Inojin returned his focus to gliding his ink bird down the mountainside, to the jagged crag of rock where the survivors were staying and using as a bivouac. "Just one last thing," he noted. "You were… holding onto her gun and charka saber when I found you… No need to worry, I have both of them with me… I'll give them to you as soon as we get back on the ground… Is that okay with you?"

Boruto gave no reply, either not hearing Inojin's last question or ignoring him completely. Instead, he continued weeping uncontrollably and inconsolably.

* * *

_**How did you all like Chapter 26? Again, feel free to leave comments and reviews, likes and kudos, follows and favorites or subscriptions and bookmarks! **_

_***SIGH* my heart is hurting... This is probably the saddest and most painful chapter to read, even if you aren't a Sumire or BoruSumi fan. Unexpected things still happened, and the Konoha Squadron is still stuck on the mountain in the middle of the supertyphoon. Some of them could freeze to death, or otherwise get severe frostbite and hypoxia.**_

_**Next week will be a hiatus week for me, since I have an exam in my majors (fluid kinematics huhuhu), so I won't upload next Sunday! Two Sundays from now (November 3), I will upload Chapter 27: "A Great Loss". Don't worry, it's less depressing than 25 and 26, but it still tackles the devastating aftermath of the battle, the plight of the Konoha Squadron, as well as the rescue operations! Shinki and his team and Kagura and his team will both make appearances! ^_^**_

_**Trivia:**_

_**1) With the descent down Mount Tirad, the storm battering the Konoha Squadron, and the difficulties and deaths that happened, I took inspiration from the book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer and its movie adaptation "Everest" from 2015 =)**_

_**2) The world that Boruto, Momoshiki, and Sumire appeared in is indeed Boruto's mind/dream space... How Sumire got in there, I will fully reveal it in the coming Book 2 of this series (which is still a long ways away XD), but I've left some clues (specifically in the last parts of Chapter 25) about how this happened.**_

_**3) I based the look of the dream space of Boruto on the ED of Violet Evergarden (the part where the stars start turning against the deep violet background and leaving trails behind like long-exposure photographs). It's so beautiful! ^_^**_

_**4) The song that Sumire sang (and in Boruto's flashbacks, the same one that Naruto sang to Hinata during their 15th Anniversary, and that Namida sang to Wasabi during their 1st Monthsary) is "You're Still You" by Josh Groban. Still one of my favorite songs, and is very poignant and meaningful too! =D**_

_**5) Did any of you wonder why Sumire said along the lines of "I won't be seeing you for a long while" instead of "I'm never going to see you again?" Remember, she doesn't really believe in an afterlife either... SO... *GASP* =O ;)**_


	27. In Honor Of Sumire

_**Hello my ever-faithful readers! Welcome back! It's Chapter 27! I promise you, it won't be as depressing as Chapters 25 and 26! XD ^_^**_

_**Sorry I wasn't able to post last week! Hell week in university prevented me from writing enough huhuhu =(**_

_**Truthfully, this coming week (ESPECIALLY TUESDAY) is going to be hellish for me, but I just had to update now!**_

_**Also, this work will now be 29 chapters, since I split this chapter 27 into 27 and 28 to be able to upload tonight, and also to make the writing easier! ^_^**_

_**Anyway, without further ado, on with the story! =D**_

_**If you liked this chapter, make sure to leave comments, reviews, likes, kudos, follows, favorites, or subscriptions! Thanks! ^_^**_

* * *

**Chapter 27: In Honor Of Sumire**

The sun had risen over the majestic snow-capped peaks of the Mile-High Mountains barely a minute ago, and Inojin tried his very best to maintain control of his paper bird in the bitterly cold and turbulent air of the storm above Mount Tirad, with Boruto in tow on the bird's talons. Eventually, Inojin noticed that the air became thick enough to fly normally again, even with Boruto's added weight. He breathed a sigh of relief and began to steer. Of course, gliding was still very difficult because of the storm's buffeting winds making the ride turbulent and chaotic, but he was sure he could at least crash-land, with his own estimation of there being a high-to-medium probability of both of them surviving the impact.

Inojin now had a rough idea of where he and Boruto currently were, and where his target landing area was. Through the slushy mix of rain and snow, he spotted the jagged rock where he had lifted off from less than half an hour ago, as well as his friends who were all gathered next to it. "Get ready Boruto, this might not be a pleasant landing."

The young Uzumaki gave no response whatsoever. "Alright… slow down… decrease descent rate…" Inojin pulled up his flying paper animal and slowed its graceful fall through the thin air. "We'll be on the ground in around 10 seconds… Brace for it, Boruto."

Boruto shook his head and closed his eyes. "I… trust you…"

Inojin chose not to reply, as his focus was on his own safety now. "Five seconds… Max thrust up!"

Listening to its master, the white paper-like animal flapped its wings hard and fast to slow down and stop it from smashing into the mountain. Inojin timed it near-perfectly; the paper bird hovered less than a meter off the ground by the time it fully stopped its fall. The bird gently dropped Boruto onto the white snow, before it was dissipated by Inojin.

"That was impressive," Mitsuki applauded him.

Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida rushed to Boruto's side, followed by Konohamaru, Kakashi, and Hanabi. "Are you okay?"

"Are you crazy?" Konohamaru shook him. "Look at me! You could have died going back up there! Do you think I could live with the guilt of letting you die on my watch? What would I tell your father?"

"That it was my choice. Mine alone." Boruto glared at his own sensei, and so Konohamaru backed off.

Sarada put her hand on his shoulder in reassurance. "Boruto…"

"All of this… was a mistake," he stared at the open palms and fingers of his two shaking hands, as if they were drenched and stained with blood. "I'm not a hero at all… I couldn't even save a person I loved…"

"It's not your fault!"

"SHUT UP!"

Sarada was stunned by Boruto's unexpected outburst, but she persisted. "Please Boruto, calm down."

"I… I'm sorry… I just hate myself… so much… Just leave me alone…"

Boruto stumbled to the rocky outcrop where the group was huddling behind to hide from the gale-force winds. There, he fell back on the rock and slid down, bursting into tears while doing so. He mumbled and cried out Sumire's name repeatedly.

"Leave him be for now," Hanabi told everyone. "Just wait for the storm to pass." The entire group returned to the old positions they had around the rock, with the exception of Renga, whose old spot was now taken by Boruto. Not wanting to aggravate or anger him any further, he moved to a vacant spot and rested, even if he was much more exposed to the winds and the rains of the storm there. The last thing he wanted to do was to bother Boruto or make him feel even worse.

"Boruto," Sarada attempted to console Boruto anyway. "I'm… so sorry… I'm really depressed over it too… Sumire-"

Boruto grabbed Sarada, and for a moment she tensed up, prepared to push Boruto away again if she needed. But instead, he pulled himself towards her and cried on her shoulder.

"It'll… all be okay…" Sarada deepened the informal embrace and tried to soothe Boruto's mind and spirit, but to no avail.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Even three hours after Inojin and Boruto reunited with the rest of the group, the fury of the storm did not seem to dissipate even slightly. The winds were still strong and unpredictable. The icy slushy rain was still blinding, and the bitingly cold wind chill remained.

More than a thousand meters down below the beleaguered survivors of the Rem Fortress, both Shinki's team and Kagura's team were beginning to ascend the Spur Trail. They all knew something had gone terribly wrong. The two teams had arrived independently from one another at the mountain town of Spur within half an hour of each other, past 4 in the morning. As they entered the large town, they noticed the strong burning smell mixed in with the water droplets and ice in the air. They had also talked to the residents of the town to find out more about the situation. The residents of the town said they were all awoken around 2 o'clock in the early morning by the loudest explosion they had ever heard, and they added that they were worried that the Land of Earth was bombing their town from beyond the mountains. There were also claims that some of the citizens of Spur saw a large ashen smoke cloud rising from the col of the mountain where the 25-member strong Konoha regiment was said to have encamped. However, now that Mount Tirad was shrouded by the storm's thick clouds, it was impossible to confirm the report at the moment.

Four more hours of turtle-paced progress passed. The storm was still very much a hassle to climb through, as visibility was still well below 10 meters in any direction, and this was deadly for a group that did not know by heart the very trail they were taking.

"Hurry up guys," Kagura ordered in a fit of worry. "I think Boruto and the others are in deep trouble."

"Hurry to where?" Shinki countered. "We don't even know where they set up their base, or even where they are now."

"Can't Yodo hear their heartbeats?" Kagura asked. "Isn't her sense of hearing that powerful?"

"If they're within a kilometer from us," Yodo clarified before removing her earphones. "Everyone, stay where you are right now."

She knelt down on the snow, closed her eyes, and listened closely to her surroundings. Her ears felt like they were burning because of the screaming of the winds, but she endured it to try and figure out where her friends from Konoha were. _"There's a lot of shifting rubble up there in the pass, _she noted to herself. _"A lot of cursing and beating hearts on the other side of the mountain… Those voices don't sound like my friends… Wait! Lower down the mountain, back from where we came from… There's a group of people huddled together around a big snowy boulder…"_ Her eyes flew open when she focused on a sound that was so familiar to her: Shikadai's calm and gently breathing.

"It's them!" Yodo quickly got to her feet and put on her earphones again so she wouldn't become deaf from the constantly howling winds of the storm around her.

"Where are they?"

"We already passed them while we were going up!" Yodo exclaimed and started running back down the trail, pointing to where she felt their presence. "They're down in that direction."

"Follow her," Araya told Kagura and the other two kunoichi from his team, Rei and Ina. The two teams retraced their steps for about 500 meters before Yodo turned right and off the Spur Trail. After about 200 more meters, Kagura spotted some odd colors in the direction of the boulder. "I think I see them!"

"Is anyone there?" Shinki shouted. "Is anyone alive out here?"

Above the raging storm, Yodo still heard now-joyful voices coming from the giant rock, and focused on one that she loved. "Shikadai and the others are there!"

The six would-be rescuers found what remained of the Konoha squadron, huddled around partially sheltered from the storm, along with a group of prisoners-of-war-turned-asylum-seekers.

"Yodo!" Shikadai uttered as he struggled to stand and approach her. "You have no idea how-"

Yodo embraced him. "I'm so happy… You're alive…"

"We can't stay here much longer," Sarada told Shinki and Kagura who both helped her to her feet. "Some of us have frostbite. Some are badly wounded. Can you help us with them?"

"Of course," Kagura replied. He then turned to his kunoichi teammates. "Please Rei and Ina, guide those who can walk on their own down to Spur. We'll handle the ones in worse shape."

"Right away," the two girls nodded. The two kunoichis from Kiri helped wake up, gather, and organize the non-critically injured survivors into a long chain. They even tied climbing ropes to each member of the line so that nobody would get lost or left behind. Rei and Ina led a careful descent of the Spur Trail into the supertyphoon, which was now thankfully waning in ferocity. The eight women from Iwa further assisted their new friends from Konoha, especially those who now had frostbite on their feet, by supporting them by the shoulders and walking side by side with them. Two of them even carried Iwabe, who was only half-conscious and was visibly confused as to what was happening around him.

Meanwhile, Yodo asked Shikadai, "What are you still doing here? You, Inojin, and Moegi-sensei should go now."

"We're not leaving Chocho behind," he insisted to his beloved girlfriend. "She's our teammate."

"I don't need you guys to help me," Shinki calmly said as he manipulated his metal sand into a sheet bent midway, such that it resembled a stretcher, and gently scooped up Chocho with ease. "I can handle this on my own."

"Still, we'd like to accompany you anyway."

Shinki shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Fine by me." Shinki, Yodo, and Araya, along with Team 10, carefully travelled down the path. On the other hand, Kagura warmed the still-comatose Namida with a water-based jutsu, much to Wasabi's gratitude. "Let's get her down safely now."

"Mitsuki," Wasabi asked, "can you stabilize Namida again?"

"Sure!" Mitsuki wrapped his arms around Namida's torso and mentally prepared himself to walk in lockstep with Hanabi and Kagura.

Sarada patted Boruto's shoulder. "Boruto… We have to go now." There was no reply. Boruto kept staring into nothingness. "Boruto, listen to me. If you don't want to live for yourself, or for me, or for anyone else, at least live for Sumire. She gave her life for you… for us all. You can at least show her that you're grateful for her precious gift… Please, for her… Live for her… Live in honor of Sumire…"

"…Fine…" Boruto slowly got up to his feet. Sarada noticed that the stream of tears down his cheeks had actually frozen solid.

"We'll get you fixed up once we get to Spur or Ame…" She turned to walk to Mitsuki, but as she did, she spotted an odd, out-of-place tuft of black in front of the white snowy boulder. "Wait," Sarada looked closer, and she realized it was Renga. "Renga is still here! I think he fell asleep."

"Wake him up please," Hanabi asked of Sarada. "Though I'm surprised that he stayed asleep throughout all of this… Boruto, please come to me."

As Boruto walked glumly to his Aunt Hanabi, Sarada approached Renga. "Wake up Renga! We have to go!" Then, Sarada saw that his eyes were open and unmoving, as if his eyelids had been frozen in place. She then noticed that his torso and entire upper body was exposed, and that another shirt was strewn over his arms, as if he was trying to wear it. Nobody had noticed him before because much of his body was now coated in white snow, making it nearly impossible to differentiate him from the rock behind him.

"No… Please no…"

"What's wrong?" Wasabi ran over to Sarada and saw the exact same thing she saw. "Renga… Shit…" She put her index and middle fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse. She also checked for other vital signs like breathing. She shook her head after less than ten seconds. "He's dead… most likely died of freezing. He looks like he was changing his shirt…"

Sarada was in shock. "Dammit… Why would he change his shirt in the middle of the storm? He was freezing wet and he was exposed to the storm."

"He might have had diminished mental capability because of hypothermia and hypoxia," Wasabi hypothesized. "Hypoxia can cause High-Altitude Cerebral Edema, or HACE, where the brain is flooded by liquid due to the failure of one's body to acclimatize to the lack of oxygen in high altitudes. It can really mess with your brain. I've read in my one-on-one classes with your mom that mountaineers who developed HACE act irrationally. They would sometimes forget how to think or talk altogether, and a few of them randomly removed their clothing and rolled around in the snow because they mistakenly felt hot inside their climbing suits."

Sarada agreed and suggested, "Should we… leave him here?"

"Yeah… Maybe sometime in the future, we can give him a mountain burial and cover him up with rocks… But for now, let's get to Spur." Sarada nodded, and the two girls walked back to the others. Kagura, Mitsuki, and Hanabi lifted Namida, and guided by Konohamaru, they carefully carried her down the mountain.

Sarada and Wasabi then saw Boruto looking back at the frozen corpse of Renga, which was staring unblinking into the distance. "He's dead because of me too…"

"Boruto, don't say that! Don't blame yourself for every single thing-"

"But you said so yourself… That place where he stayed was the most exposed to the elements… Before Inojin brought me back, he was at a more sheltered spot… but then I took his spot and forced him to find another place to stay… It's my fault he froze to death."

Instead of reasoning with him, Sarada and Wasabi each took one of Boruto's arms and dragged him along the trail back to the town of Spur.

*******XXXXXXX*******

By the time the last members of Konoha's Tirad Squadron reached the outer anti-avalanche walls of Spur, the supertyphoon had weakened substantially, and though the gusts were still sudden and fierce, the sound of the rain now overcame the sound of the wind. Kagura, Konohamaru, Hanabi, Team 7, and the remaining members of Team 15, were guided by the friendly villagers to the small medical center of the town.

"It's an emergency!" Wasabi begged the nurse at the front desk. "Severe shock and blood loss, as well as damage to tissues and internal organs from bullet wounds."

The nurse nervously replied, "Umm, I'm so sorry. We're only really equipped for treating frostbite, hypoxia, mountain sickness, and broken bones. Blood loss and bullet wounds are way out of our range." The nurse then seemed to remember something, and she pulled out a note to check. "You must be the last of the Konoha Squadron stationed at Mount Tirad. For those with injuries we can't handle fully, we'll provide quick transport to Ame for free!"

"So everyone went ahead to the train station?" Sarada asked her.

"Yes. We were able to treat seven members of your regiment for frostbite to their fingers and toes, as well as five who had hypoxia from the high altitude and the stormy conditions. We finished treating them shortly before you arrived, so they should be waiting for you at the train station. Oh and by the way… thank you so much for defending my country."

"Thank you too for being so kind," Hanabi gratefully thanked the young nurse.

After leaving the medical center, the eight caught up to the rest of the survivors and their rescuers, who were resting in the shelter of the train station. The relatively warm atmosphere inside the lively, bustling station helped them further defrost, though it did not help their spirits in the slightest. Within a few minutes, the entire group was allowed to board the newly arrived outgoing train for free and without the need for paid tickets.

During the train ride to Ame, silence reigned over the survivors, with only requests for help and comfort being shared to one another. All of them had gone through so much, and so were fatigued both physically and mentally, and their morale and spirits were at rock bottom. Boruto, in particular, was clearly the hardest hit, and over the entirety of the 45-minute trip from Spur to Ame, no amount of empathy shown or consolation given by Sarada, Mitsuki, Shikadai, Inojin, Denki, Konohamaru, Hanabi, or Wasabi, seemed to make any positive change.

Finally, they returned to the familiar, perennially rainy city of Ame, and once the doors of the train opened to let the passengers out, Wasabi hit the ground running. She, Mitsuki, Kagura, and Hanabi raced Namida to the Ame City Hospital. It was only two blocks away from the official residence of the Amekage, the Michishirube Tower, where they had stayed only two weeks ago. Behind them, the eight asylum-seekers brought Hako, Houki, Enko, and Kakashi, while Denki led a dazed and stumbling Iwabe, dragging him all the way from the station to the hospital by the wrists. At the same time, some emergency medical technicians were eating lunch nearby and were alerted to the critical situation. They had a portable emergency stretcher trolley with them, and so they helped Shikadai, Inojin, and Moegi wheel Chocho through the glass doors of the massive hospital complex.

Everyone else followed them inside at a slower pace, since they did not require emergency medical attention. They were allowed to stay inside the hospital's third floor landing for the meantime. There, they saw Kakashi on a wheelchair being pushed to a normal operating room to remove the shrapnel lodged in the back of his torso, and Namida being given multiple blood transfusions and intravenous fluids while being wheeled to the emergency operating room for her surgery. They did not see Chocho, but they were told she was being treated at the other wing of the hospital due to her tetanus infection that went along with her shrapnel-related injuries.

In the lobby of the third floor where they were gathered, Konohamaru was allowed by the sympathetic hospital staff to make some free-of-charge phone calls to Konoha. Konohamaru dialed the Hokage Mansion phone number to speak with Naruto, who picked up almost immediately.

_"__Hello-"_

"Big Bro… I mean, Lord Seventh!"

_"__KONOHAMARU! Don't even bother with the honorifics! Are you guys all okay? What happened? Why was there no call for the reinforcements?"_

"It looks like we were jammed up by the enemy's technology. The entire Second Earth Army besieged our position when they tried to pass through Mount Tirad! We tried to get the word out, but we lost all connection to the outside world."

Konohamaru heard Naruto breathe deeply on the other side of the line. _"Umm… Okay, is everyone alright over there?"_

"No… we suffered a lot of casualties…"

"Dammit! Who-"

"Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki are unharmed for the most part," Konohamaru interrupted. "Kakashi-sensei is in the operating room right now, along with Chocho Akimichi, Namida Suzumeno, and some others."

"Okay… I'm glad they're alive and fighting on," Naruto breathed a sigh of relief that his son, his protégé, and his sensei were all alive. "But… who didn't make it?"

"Most of Team 40 is dead… Half of Team 25 is dead. Same with Team 5 too… Metal and Udon… died during the descent…"

_"__I'm so sorry to hear that…"_

"And… Sumire Kakei-"

_"__Shit… What happened to Sumire?"_

"According to Sarada, she sacrificed herself to try and save everyone from the enemy army, who had broken through our walls… She blew herself up using what remained of her Gozu Tennou, and took most of the Second Earth army down with her, along with a big chunk of the mountain itself.

An uncomfortably long silence followed, only broken by Naruto's pained sigh. _"How are… Boruto and Sarada… taking it? I know they're both very close to Sumire… And how is her own team taking it too?"_

"As you might expect, Boruto and Sarada aren't taking it so well. Boruto's feeling very down, while Sarada is trying desperately to remain outwardly calm and collected, so she can try to be a leader and be as helpful as she can be. On the other hand, Wasabi Izuno and Hanabi-chan are both heartbroken by Sumire's sacrifice, but right now they are more focused on the condition of Namida. Hanabi definitely wouldn't want two of her students to die on her watch, and Wasabi… Well, I'm sure you are aware of their special relationship. Wasabi definitely doesn't want to lose her Namida too."

*******XXXXXXX*******

After Konohamaru ended his call, Sarada used the phone and called her home, hoping her parents would pick up. After three or four rings, someone finally picked up the phone on the other end. "Hello?"

_"__SARADA!" _

"Ouch, my ears…" Sakura's deafening worried voice rang through the phone and into Sarada's ear, making her dizzy for a few seconds. "Mom, I think I'm deaf now…"

_"__Thank goodness you guys are alive! Sasuke-dear, Sarada's okay-"_

The sound of the phone being grabbed was heard, followed by Sasuke's voice. _"Sarada! Where are you now?"_

"Dad! I'm so happy to hear your voice… We're in Ame right now, but we can't go back to Konoha yet because our regiment has a lot of severe injuries right now-"

_"__Where exactly in Ame?"_

"Umm, third floor lobby of Ame City Hospital. Why?"

_"__I'll be there as soon as possible!"_

"What do you mean? Dad?"

_"__Honey," _Sakura took over from Sasuke, _"your father is on his way. He'll be there in about ten minutes, I'd say."_

"Is Dad using his time-space ninjutsu?"

_"__Yeah,"_ Sakura stated proudly. _"He just made a portal and ran through it. Actually, now that I think about it, since he's running through his dimension, he could be there in five minutes."_

"That's so nice to hear…"

_"__Speaking of hearing, I'm sorry about a while ago, hehehe… I just couldn't help myself. When I heard your voice, I knew you were alive and okay… I love you Sarada."_

"I love you too Mom."

_"__By the way, how are the others? How are you friends? Boruto, Mitsuki, Wasabi, Namida, Sumire, and Chocho? I'm really hoping nobody got seriously injured. We were all so worried after we didn't get any word from you guys about the mission's progress."_

"Umm… Boruto, Mitsuki, and Wasabi are all okay… Chocho was struck by shrapnel, while Namida was shot and wounded badly. Both of them are being operated on right now…" Sarada trailed off, her chest starting to squeeze in anguish. She had a difficult time finding the words to express what happened to her best friend Sumire.

_"__Sarada sweetie? What's the matter?"_

"Sumire… she… she-"

_"__Ohh no… Sumire?"_

"She… sacrificed herself so everybody could escape… I couldn't convince her to just go with us… I… she was my best friend, and I failed her."

_"__Shhh… Listen Sarada,"_ Sakura tried to soothe her daughter's turbulent mind and heart. _"Don't blame yourself… I'm sure Sumire knew full what she was doing… I love you Sarada. Your dad will be with you soon."_

"Thanks Mom… I'll try not to blame myself; I really will try… By the way, you're not going here with Dad?"

"I can't sweetie, I'm really sorry. I'm only on an hour-long break right now. I need to get back to the hospital soon… There are still lots of recovering patients from the Kara Offensive that I'm in charge of. Most of them are from the gas attacks… They need me here."

Sarada felt a pang of sadness in her already troubled heart, but she fully understood just how important her mother was to Konoha. "It's okay Mom! Don't worry about me! Keep doing your best there!"

"I definitely will! You know me!"

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Sarada saw the three living Amekages, Yahikonan, Risha, and Konan, walking towards her and the others in the lobby. "Wait Mom, I'm sorry. I need to go. The Amekages are here."

"Go ahead Sarada. Love you. Take care."

"Love you too Mom!" She put down the phone and returned it to the staff, and then returned to the lobby, where the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amekages now stood. The Konoha ninja there wearily stood up in attention out of respect, but Yahikonan waved them off and gestured for them to sit back down.

"I heard what had happened," he told them. "You were all very brave to keep fighting against such horrible odds. I cannot thank you all enough for what you did."

"A group of 25 standing against tens of thousands of enemy soldiers," Risha added, "and fighting on for five whole days… I commend all of you for your valor."

"You are all heroes," Konan affirmed. "Those standing in this room, those being treated right now, and those who… who remained on the mountain… Thank you for defending our land with your blood and effort."

"We promise to take care of you while you stay in Ame," Yahikonan reassured them before promising, "We will pay for any and all expenses you incur, medical or not, during your stay. It is the very least we can do as the Amekages to repay our debt to you."

"Thank you so much for your kindness," Konohamaru bowed.

"You are all welcome to stay at our tower again," Konan kindly offered. "Stay for as long as you need to. There's no need to rush the recovery times of your wounded friends."

"You heard Lady Konan," Konohamaru told the others. "We're staying in the tower again for the coming weeks."

Just then, a black wispy portal suddenly appeared in out of thin air in the center of the lobby. Sasuke jumped out of the newly formed portal, panting and sweating from sprinting the entire distance in his own time-space dimension. "Sarada!"

"Dad! I-" Sarada was cut off by Sasuke grabbing her into his arms and his tight embrace, which she deepened. "Dad, I'm happy you're here…"

"I'm so relieved that you're safe…" Sasuke let go of his daughter, who gasped for air after having the wind squeezed and knocked out of her. "And you too, Boruto." No reply came from the blonde shinobi.

"Sasuke Uchiha!" The Sixth Amekage took over, not giving the awkwardness of Boruto a chance to affect everyone else. "It's good to see you again. We last met at the recent Shinobi Union conference."

"Lord Amekage Yahikonan," Sasuke replied and nodded. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter, my pupil, and their friends. If there is anything I can do to assist, I would be glad to do it."

"Thanks be to you as well… And I'll take you up on your offer. The medical staff in of this hospital is currently understaffed due to the fear of invasion and a possible attack on Ame, and they may become overwhelmed with the patients and the sheer severity of these injuries. So if I may, I would just like to ask for further backup to help them out with treating the wounded. Would you happen to know anyone who would?"

Sasuke pondered on his request. "My wife is busy as is at the Konoha Hospital, with all the patients still in hospital from the gas attack during the assault by Kara… but I think Karin Uzumaki and Team Taka will be able to help. I'll be able to get them here quickly."

*******XXXXXXX*******

The sun began to set an hour and a half after the three living Amekages left to prepare the tower's guests rooms for the survivors and the women from Iwa who had helped them greatly. As the clouds of the rainy sky began to turn less gray and more orange, Sarada was looking out through the glass window of the lobby. She held her hand close to her heart, with the stubborn guilt she felt in her heart festering and growing in magnitude. She could not accept the fact that she had failed to convince Sumire to keep living and fighting on, but she also could not accept that without that sacrifice, most of her friends could very well be dead by now. After all, it was her life's primary goal to become Hokage, and by extension, to find the strength to protect the Land of Fire and Konoha. However, one of her more personal goals was to protect and help all the people that she loved and cared for. But now, it crossed her mind that her closest friend gave up her own life and future to save her and their friends. Sarada now felt that her personal goal contradicted itself, something that she never thought would happen before. Why did one of her friends have to die for the sake of her and everyone else? Why couldn't she protect all of her friends? Was she that weak? Was she a big failure?

Sarada didn't know the answers to those any of those questions. There was only one thing that she was sure of at the moment: She was alone looking out at the incoming dusk. Boruto had long disappeared and she wasn't sure where he went. On the other hand, Mitsuki had wandered off somewhere else after Boruto left, and she saw that he had been holding one of his white snake communicators. Sarada knew he was talking to his father Orochimaru, possibly updating him on the situation.

Inside one of the conference rooms in the hospital, Konohamaru was on an important video call with Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and Shikamaru, using Denki's laptop to call them and explain to them exactly what had happened over the previous two weeks, especially the last five days. The five-day-long delaying action was now becoming known as "The Battle of Mount Tirad", or alternatively, "The Battle of The Hod and Feres Passes", as it was called by the news broadcasters on the widescreen television in the lobby, as well as the online news articles that were now making their viral rounds across the Internet. Since it was his laptop being used in the video chat, Denki was inside the room as well, to serve as the technician to make sure that the videoconference went smoothly. Shikadai and Inojin also entered in the room, and this made their parents were very relieved to see that they were alive and mostly unhurt, aside from some temporary marks from the frostbite that had been quickly treated back at the medical center of Spur.

"Sarada! You're here!" The young Uchiha turned her head and saw her Aunt Karin running at her with a full head of steam, arms outstretched, her eyes shining and her glasses gleaming in the light of the setting sun. She quickly spread her arms too, and the two women, aunt and niece, met in a warm and tight embrace. "I'm so, so, so relieved!"

"I'm not hurt, Aunt Karin. Don't worry about me!"

"I can't help but worry for you," Karin replied as she and Sarada sat down on the sofa of the lobby. "You're like a daughter to me, remember? I was the one who helped your mom give birth to you, after all."

Sarada smiled as she leaned against Karin. "Thank you, Aunt Karin… Thank you so much…"

Karin pulled her even closer to her in a side-hug and patted her shoulder. "For what exactly? That I think of you as my own blood? That I'm pretty much your godmother?"

At first, Sarada shook her head, but then quickly reversed course and nodded. "Well, there is that of course… But it's more about you just being here, talking to me and spending time with me…" Sarada sighed deeply. "A minute ago, I was feeling really lonely. Boruto left the hospital, Mitsuki's talking to his Orochimaru, Wasabi and Hanabi-sensei are at Namida's beside, and Konohamaru-sensei and my own father are busy talking to Lord Seventh and the Shinobi Union. I… I felt as if everyone was too busy caring about other people and other things that they forgot about me, or maybe they automatically assumed I was okay. That's why I'm happy that you're here…"

Karin nodded, signifying to Sarada that she was listening wholeheartedly. "If ever you need to talk to someone, I'm here. I'll try to make time for you. I'll try my best to make myself available. But it's looking like I'm going to be busy, since I'll be in charge of treating Chocho and Namida. In any case, I'm sure you have other friends you can talk to! How about Sumire? I know you and Sumire are best buddies! She won't ever let you feel alone, I'm sure of that!"

Sarada's words caught in her throat, and for a few seconds, she felt that she was choking. She bit her lip to suppress sobs. Her eyes were pushing hard to convince her to give up the fight and let her break down and cry. After all, none of her friends were there to see her at the moment, and she was in the company of her beloved aunt, whom she knew would understand the anguish and sorrow she was feeling deep inside. But after what felt like an eternity that was somehow crammed into a few moments, she shook her head and fought back the flood of tears.

"Oh no…" Karin reacted quickly and pulled Sarada into another squeezing-tight hug. By Sarada's actions and lack of words, she was able to put together the gist of what had happened. "I'm… I'm sorry for even bringing it up. I didn't know…"

For a long time, Karin and Sarada remained in their embrace, neither one of them willing to let go of the other. The dying scarlet glow of the sunset shone on them through the clear glass panels. "Sarada," Karin empathized, "do you want to talk to me about what happened? Are you comfortable talking it?"

After some hesitation, Sarada replied, "We'd planned to use the break in the supertyphoon to secretly evacuate to Spur. But in the middle of our evacuation, the Earth Army attacked and breached the fortress. We couldn't rush because we had a lot of wounded to help down the trail, so Sumire and Nue blocked the pass. I tried to convince her to come down with us, but she chose to give the rest of us the best chance of escape possible… So she blew up the pass and herself to eliminate the threat of the Earth Army."

"Putting others before herself… That sounds just like her," Karin recalled with a sigh. "I remember first meeting her when you two ran into Jugo. I believe your team and her team had a joint mission at the Land of Rivers?" Sarada simply nodded. "From what I knew and heard about her, she was a nice young woman, a bright scientist, and a skilled kunoichi. But above all else, I know for sure that she was a wonderful friend who would stand brave and fight, tooth and nail, for the people she loved and cared about. That includes her teammates, Boruto, and of course, you."

Karin paused to think of other things to help comfort her niece. However, a doctor in a fresh white coat rushed to her and interrupted her thoughts. "Excuse me, are you Karin Uzumaki?"

Karin hesitated slightly. "Umm… yes?"

"Chocho Akimichi is ready for her surgery. We gave her a strong drug to treat her tetanus infection, so she won't spasm during the procedure."

Karin nodded. "And I'll be the one to monitor her vital signs and provide her with stabilizing chakra, correct?"

The doctor nodded and then turned to Sarada. "Also, excuse me for asking," he addressed Sarada. "Are you friends with Iwabe Yuino?"

"Yes," Sarada answered him. "He's my friend. Why do you ask?"

"He's in the intensive care unit right now. He's lucky to have made it all the way here, let alone even walk into the hospital on his own power, considering how bad his situation is!"

Sarada was confused. "Wait, what do you mean? He wasn't wounded or anything. What's going on with him?"

"He has both HACE and HAPE. High-Altitude Cerebral Edema and High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema. Both are life-threatening mountain sicknesses caused by the body's failure to acclimatize or adapt to sudden oxygen and air pressure changes."

"That's horrible!" Karin responded. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We're going to put him in our hypobaric chamber and fill it with pure oxygen to help him treat his cerebral edema. We'll also drain his lungs of the fluid when we can. Other than those and giving him additional drugs to treat the edemas, we can only monitor his condition for the next few days and hope for the best."

Sarada asked, "How is he right now?"

The doctor explained, "The pulmonary edema was caused by fluid from blood vessels that burst under pressure. It's filled his lungs almost to the point of respiratory failure. On the other hand, the cerebral edema means that his brain is swelling with fluid. His brain is being squeezed inside his own skull, and he could fall into a coma at any time. Additionally, because of the swelling of his brain, he's also extremely confused and forgetful. He was so dazed and out of it that your friend Denki had to guide him along the hallways so he wouldn't keep bumping into walls and people."

In Sarada's mind, more and more things began to make sense. She recalled that during their descent into the storm more than half a day ago, Iwabe seemed easily ticked off and even stubborn to the point of irrationality when she had argued that Udon-sensei was wrong and should not be followed. She conceded that Iwabe was always somewhat of a hothead, but what happened those hours ago wasn't usual for him. "He may already have been suffering from high-altitude cerebral edema by then," Sarada thought to herself before nodding to the doctor. "It does explain why he refused to be reasonable with us."

The doctor turned around to leave, but Karin stayed for a few more seconds. She looked carefully at Sarada's face. "You seem to be outgrowing your glasses," she noted with a slight smile. "I'll make sure to have another pair ready before we leave Ame."

"Thank you, Aunt Karin."

"Don't mention it! Anyway, I need to go and help treat Chocho and then Namida. Let's talk more in the next couple of days, okay? It looks like we'll both be staying in Ame for the next few weeks anyway."

"Sure thing, Aunt Karin!" As Karin walked off and turned the corner beyond Sarada's sight, Sarada felt down because their time together was cut short, but she understood that others needed her far more than she did at the moment. Now truly alone, Sarada looked at the quickly dimming scarlet clouds at the ever-rainy horizon. Her mind flashed back to the beautiful sunrise that she and Sumire had watched on the summit of Mount Tirad only two days prior. Closing her eyes, she recalled the notable events of the 48 hours that followed: The planned evacuation and escape, the storm's wrath, Sarada and Wasabi giving Sumire encouragement to talk to and confess to Boruto, Sumire actually successfully confessing to Boruto, the unexpected attack of the Second Earth Army, the breaking of the walls, Sumire's final decision to stay behind, the felling of the Sephiroth, Sumire's annihilating explosion that decimated the enemy army, the long and arduous descent to Spur, and the silent retreat to Ame, where they were now.

Unconsciously, Sarada also remembered the last creative writing that Sumire had shared with her, the one she had hastily written in the hectic scramble of the hasty and unorganized evacuation. At first, she thought of it as a sweet expression of Sumire's undying and devoted love for Boruto. However, the more Sarada reflected on certain lines, the more she felt that something wasn't right, at least with how she had initially interpreted it.

_"__And I know for some, it may be temporary, like a shooting star soon out of view…"_

_"__But this will always be… It's my destiny to be in love with you…"_

_"__Every life is filled with passing moments… Like the seasons change, they come and go…"_

_"__But this is infinite… Nothing, even death, can separate our souls… Cause you're my final goal…"_

_"__One thing that I know for sure… Longer than our lives endure, you're my forever fall."_

_"__It wasn't sweet!"_ Sarada realized as she now saw those lines in a much different light. _"It was bittersweet! It's as if she accepted that she was going to die, and that she wouldn't be with Boruto for long… whether it was hours ago or months from now that she would die and leave us… It's as if she had given up the fight, and instead wanted to make the end of her life mean something… Did she intend to sacrifice herself? No, because if the Earth Army didn't attack, then she would have come with us…"_

It all came to a head in one moment, all of the stress and uncertainty and hurt and anger and sorrow compounding each other, and Sarada's façade of strength finally shattered into a million pieces, as falling glass would upon impact with the floor. She fell forwards onto the glass panes of the windows. Tears spontaneously flowed down her cheeks, as if the river in her had at last burst its banks. She sobbed hard and gasped repeatedly, not being able to breathe properly because of her breakdown. She was sure that other people in the hospital were looking at her; whether it was pity, disgust, or judgment, she no longer care.

"DAMMIT… SHANAROOO!" In her distraught and guilt-ridden state of mind, she punched the glass in front of her as hard as she could. The glass shattered into a fine dust and sprinkled the road below. Sarada, who one moment was leaning on the glass pane, now leaned on nothing but thin air, and she fell forward the moment she broke the glass.

For her, time flew by slowly. She saw the ground three stories below appearing slowly over the edge of the floor below her. She began to flail her arms about, trying to grab hold of something so she would not fall out the side of the building, but to no avail. A few moments later, she was nearly horizontal, and from high above, her face was looking straight down onto the cold and wet concrete sidewalk below. However, something arrested her motion right then and there. She felt as if she was being embraced from behind, and she felt an unknown force pull her by her waist back into the hospital lobby, where she landed on her back.

"Sumire?" Sarada's first thought was that Sumire turned back time for her somehow, just as Wasabi had told her. Her hopes rose for a second, but when she looked behind her and saw someone that was obviously not Sumire, she looked down in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry… You didn't need to do that…"

"It's okay…" Sarada looked up in front of her at the girl who had just replied to her, the girl who had saved her from falling from the third floor of the hospital. She had long, peach-colored, almost light-red hair that flowed all the way down her back. She wore clothes that looked very comfortable, a pink blouse and a red knee-length skirt, not to mention her thick black shades. They were so dark that Sarada couldn't even see her eyes, nor could she know for sure if she had eyes at all.

The girl who saved Sarada asked her, "What's your name?"

"Umm… Sarada… You?"

"Ayano Kashiwabara," she replied nicely while getting to her feet and extending her hand for Sarada. Sarada noted that her voice was quite high-pitched. "Nice to meet you, Sarada! Sarada… do you have a last name?"

"Uchiha," Sarada responded and grabbed hold of her hand.

Ayano pulled her up and once again enveloped Sarada in a bearhug, this time from the front. "Uchiha! That's a nice name."

"Ayano… I can't breathe…"

"Ohh, sorry about that!" Ayano released her, and Sarada nearly fell back down. She panted and wheezed, trying to get her breath back. It had been truly a whirlwind for her the last two minutes. Suddenly, Ayano took her right wrist and dragged her along down the hallway, earning her Sarada's yelps, and also the confused stares of everyone who even caught a glimpse of the two women. "We should get away from the broken glass window. They'll charge you for it."

Sarada protested, "You're right, but wait! Where are you taking me?"

"There's this cafeteria around this corner to the end," Ayano answered. "Let's get some food to eat! I'm sure you're hungry, and food always calms the soul and soothes the spirit, especially if it's good food!

"You sound a bit like my friend Chocho," Sarada snickered. "Well, except Chocho would be okay with any food."

"I passed by someone who would beat that hands down," Ayano told Sarada. "There was this humongous lady in one of the hospital rooms I went into, because my mom is one of the main doctors in charge of treating her. She's the anesthesiologist, I believe. Anyway, she was dark-skinned with wild orangey hair, and she was just munching on all of these snacks! I mean like this," Ayano stopped to reenact what she had seen, copying the actions of the large lady she saw. "She looked like she was slurping entire bag of chips down her throat like it was some sort of beer. That was insane! How could anyone eat so much junk food?"

Sarada couldn't help but burst into giggles. "I'm pretty sure… you passed by Chocho then… That's definitely her."

"Really now? You're friends with her?"

"Yup!" Sarada then played back in her mind something that Ayano had said. "Wait a minute… you said you saw her?"

The two rounded the corner and entered the eatery of the hospital's third floor. "Yes. My mom and the other doctors were working on her and prepping her for surgery. I was just at the doorway for five seconds at most."

"How is Chocho doing?"

"The best surgeons are doing the procedure, so Mom said that most likely, she'll make a full recovery. I'd give her about two weeks of bed rest before letting her walk outside."

"Thank you Ayano," Sarada profusely expressed her gratitude. "And please, say thanks to your mother as well!"

"Please call me Yan," she requested. "Now, let's get some food!"

"Alright… you got it, Yan!" Sarada smiled. Some things were finally going right for her today.

* * *

**_Sooo how did you all like the chapter? Again, if you liked Chapter 27, make sure to leave non-troll comments, reviews, likes, kudos, follows, favorites, or subscriptions! They help me grow as a writer hehee! ^_^_**

**_The Konoha Regiment and the eight defected ladies from Iwa were finally rescued by Shinki, Amado, Yodo, Kagura, Ina, and Rei! Hoooray! Now they're safe in Ame, where they will recover and stay for the next few weeks, until everyone recovers enough to make the journey back to Konoha. _****_I also included a short but sweet, meaningful, and wholesome reunion between Sarada and her aunt, Karin! And_****_ Sarada has a new friend named Ayano, or Yan for short. She will actually become a VERY important character in the future of this series. Any guesses as to why? ;)_**

**_Plus, the lines of "Forever Fall" again make appearances in the story, mainly as flashbacks and reanalysis by Sarada ^_^_**

**_Ohh and yeah... there was one more casualty during the descent, and it is actually Boruto's fault. Now he'll blame himself even more... What will this lead to? Learn more in Chapter 29 ;) =O_**

**_But first, next week I will try to upload Chapter 28: "Pyrrhic Victory". Pyrrhic Victory means that the victory achieved was not worth the price they paid... _**

**_*Also, obvious Pyrrha Nikos references abound! _****_The song "Forever Fall" itself is centered around her!_****_I love her, and I really want her back in RWBY (RELIC OF CREATION PLEEEASE! PENNY JUST CAME BACK, SO I'M 100% SURE NOW THAT PYRRHA WILL PERMANENTLY RETURN TOO! BUT ALSO PLEASE, I HOPE THEY MAKE SURE THE STORYLINE IS GOOD IF THEY ARE GOING TO BRING HER BACK!) =D =D =D_**

**_Meanwhile two weeks from now, I will try to upload the final chapter of this book (BUT NOT OF THE SERIES, of course!), Chapter 29: "Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You". It will be a heavy and emotional ending, while also leaving the door open for Book 2/7 of the series: "A Spark of Hope"! =D_**

**_But again, this is not the final schedule though! I'll just tell you guys on twitter if I have to adjust it by a week so that I can get more time to study for long exams coming up! ^_^ _**


	28. Pyrrhic Victory

_**Hello everyone! Sorry for being a week late with uploading Chapter 28! College life got in the way, with sudden requirements and long exams throwing my writing schedule in disarray. I hope that I'll be able to upload next week, but it looks like with two exams this coming Friday, it's not looking likely =(**_

_**But enough of my monologue! Without further ado, here's a wholesome and mostly-warm Chapter 28! I hope you all enjoy! ^_^ **_

_**If you like this chapter, please feel free to leave reviews, comments, likes, kudos, follows, and favorites! Subscribe for more content (hahaha that last one made it sound like a YouTube video OMG XD)**_

* * *

**Chapter 28: Pyrrhic Victory**

"Hey Sarada, what are you getting?"

Sarada glanced at her new friend, Yan, who was lining up behind her and was holding in her hands a white ceramic plate that was waiting for the food she would pick from the hospital cafeteria. She then looked at the food at the other side of the glass display. "Hmm, I'd probably go for the kani salad… hmm, and maybe some sushi."

The server behind the glass counter heard Sarada's order and asked for her plate. She placed the food she wanted onto her dish and gave it back to her with a genuine smile, to which Sarada responded with a nod and a thank you.

Now, Sarada asked Yan, "How about you?"

"Miss," Yan told the server, "I'd like a rice bowl with pork, and then a cheesy onion omelet to top it off. Thank you."

"Got it." The female staff member quickly went to work. She scooped two cups of rice into a bowl, and then mixed it with already-cooked pork that was kept hot by the heating lights behind the display counter. Afterwards, she made the omelet that Yan ordered, and within the minute, she placed it on top of the rice bowl. "Thank you for waiting! Hope you enjoy our food!"

"I'm sure we will," Yan replied and turned to look for a vacant table for her and Sarada. Soon enough, Sarada stopped by an empty table by the window side, where she could see the serene lights of the city of Ame being complemented by the rain. "Let's sit here."

However, with her free hand, Yan gently pulled Sarada away from that table and led her instead to the table across the aisle. "You've broken enough windows today," Yan teased Sarada, who rolled her eyes playfully and then joined her friend in chuckling.

"I guess you're right," she relented, and the two placed their food on the table and sat down. "So Yan, are you a kunoichi too?"

"Yeah. I graduated from Oto Academy, and I'm in Team 1 of the Land of Sound. That might sound like it's prestigious, but the numbers don't really matter, do they?"

Sarada shook her head. "They don't. I'm part of Team 7 of the Land of Fire myself, but I don't really judge the other teams based on their number."

The two began to eat their respective dinners. Sarada held the sushi with the chopsticks in her right hand, while Yan was digging in her rice bowl with spoon and fork. "What rank are you right now?"

"I'm only a genin," Yan replied to Sarada's query. "Orochimaru declined to send us out to the last Chunin Exams because he said we weren't ready yet. It's fine by me though. More training for real life is always nice." She gulped down a mouthful of rice, pork, and egg. "How about you?"

"Also still a genin," Sarada began to vent. "Apparently, there's this stupid unwritten rule in place that says that only one genin can be promoted to chunin rank. The main exception to this is in times of war, when there can be mass promotions to bolster the ranks of the army."

"Meaning that if this war were to go on long enough that we get another chunin exam before it ends," Yan concluded, "we'll all have a greater chance of becoming chunin. They'll have to mass promote just to replace those who died or became injured in the fighting."

"I don't want to think of it that way," Sarada shook her head. "I guess I'm just a bit bitter that the higher-ups in Konoha chose to follow that rule and promote only one of us to chunin rank, even though a handful of us were worthy of the promotion."

"Wow, that does sound terribly unnecessary."

"I know right? What makes it worse was that I was apparently going to be picked for the promotion, only for my father to make a speech and change their minds about promoting me!"

"WHAT?" Yan reacted in astonishment, her high-pitched voice reaching new heights that Sarada did not expect. "Why would he do that?"

The Uchiha shrugged. "I don't know why he did that. You would imagine that if he was a supportive dad, he would actively work towards me getting the promotion, right?"

"For sure! Mine would, I'd think!"

"All I know is that in the end, the person who made the final decision decided to promote his own son to chunin."

"Wow, nepotism much," Yan quipped, much to Sarada's laughter.

"At least I'm not the one who said it."

"But who were the others who were considered worthy? Was Chocho one of them?"

"Not according to my dad and uncle," Sarada recalled. "As far as I can recall, aside from Shikadai who was the one who actually ended up getting promoted, the others who were really considered for promotion were myself, my teammate Mitsuki, Denki, and Sumire…"

Sarada trailed off after realizing the last name she had mentioned, and Yan looked concerned towards her friend. "I… I heard you call me by that name a while ago," she remembered, "and by the tenderness you said her name, I take it that she's your best friend."

Sarada couldn't find it in herself to reply. Her memories threatened to overwhelm her again. Yan quickly inferred the reason why. "Shit. I'm… I'm sorry for bringing it up…"

"No, it's not your fault," Sarada huffed and looked up in an effort to keep her tears from falling. "I just feel so guilty… I want to become Hokage so that I can protect Konoha and the Land of Fire and the people I love… But I couldn't even protect my best friend… without risking the lives of other people who are important to me too…"

Yan felt empathy for Sarada and what she had gone through, and she would gladly let her vent on her more, but she was afraid that Sarada would break down once again and go wild on the nearby window. So she quickly thought of steering the conversation away from that sensitive topic. "You said that you want to become the Hokage? To be able to defend your nation and your loved ones, correct?"

"Yes, I do."

"Someday, I want to become the… umm, I don't know what to call it," Yan snickered while eating more of her food. "Basically, I want to become the leader of the Land of Sound, of Oto and of the Scattered Sovereign Territories. I don't know what to call it yet since Orochimaru hasn't actually defined his official Kage title yet."

This distracted Sarada from her worsening thoughts. "That's sounds cool! We have the same goals! And you're right, we just know him as leader of the Land of Sound. It's a long title, so I do expect there to be a new title sooner than later."

"Personally, I'm envisioning it being either 'Otokage' or 'Ongakukage'. The former means 'Leader of Sound' while the latter is 'Leader of Music'."

"Hmm, 'Otokage' sounds slightly better for me. 'Ongakukage' is probably going to twist more people's tongues."

Yan thought about it. "You may be right there, but _'The Lady of Music'_ sounds so much better than _'The Lady of Sound'_!"

"I'll give you that," Sarada agreed, "while '_Lady of Sound' _can better describe my friend who can use the rare Sound Style… Wait, I'm wrong. She sings so beautifully too, so _'Lady of Music'_ definitely applies to her as well…"

"I'd like to meet this friend of yours soon! Sound Style users are very rare! I've only ever met one in person who used Sound Style before! This past February, I visited Lord Orochimaru's lab and watched one of his cool experiments with his volunteer intern named Namida Suzumeno on making new applications and jutsus for Sound Style. It was really fun and interesting! I was also able to read Lord Orochimaru's research papers with a collaborating scientist named D. Kaminarimon, and-"

Sarada's eyes glowed knowingly, and she laughed loudly. "Hold on a minute…" She recalled the things that Denki and Namida had told her in the past, about Denki's research into Sound Style, about Namida volunteering to serve under Orochimaru as an intern the previous year while Team 15 was on hiatus. "Yeah, I know who you're talking about. Namida Suzumeno is one of my close friends, and so is Denki Kaminarimon."

Yan brought her hands to the sides of her head and began jumping in her seat. "WHAT? REALLY? Oh my, it really is a small world!"

Sarada smiled. "So you've met Namida already?"

"Yes, but we only exchanged greetings and talked for a bit. Like maybe two hours during her break?"

"I don't think you can call two hours as only 'a bit'… But anyway, why do you want to become Otokage?"

"I want to make a difference in the world, starting in my own country."

Sarada finished the last of her sushi and kani salad. "What kind of change do you want to help bring about?"

"I really want to help people in the Land of Sound, especially the poor." Yan paused to clean up her bowl, devouring what remained of the rice, pork, and egg that was inside. "They cannot defend themselves from exploitation by the rich in these current socio-economic conditions of our modern world. I want to help bring about change that can help make the burden of living easier on the poor and other marginalized peoples."

Sarada rested her chin on her palm and let out a chuckle. "This certainly turned political quickly."

"Because everything is political," Yan immediately countered, and both girls reacted with laughter and 'oofs' and looked around. "Some people will get mad when they hear that, but it's true… Anyway, that's where I actually find common ground with the philosophies of groups like the Scattered Asch, and to some degree, even Kara. I agree that the current governmental and economic systems in most places needs to be improved upon, even in our two nations. And to an extent, I'm able to understand why people want to join Kara and the Scattered Asch, but I don't agree with their methods."

Sarada admitted, "While I'm not familiar enough with the Scattered Asch to make a judgment on it yet, I can't agree with any of Kara's reasons, nor can I find their actions justifiable in any way. I think they're just a bunch of terrorists that want to spread suffering and fear. And personally, I'm more for preserving the status quo of Konoha and the traditions of the Hokage, but I guess that depends on the places and circumstances that we grew up in."

"I guess so," Yan sighed in content, pushing her plate to the side of the table. "Hehehe, I still can't believe this dinner was free!"

"It's free because the Lord Sixth Amekage paid it in whole," Sarada replied as she pushed her now empty plate beside Yan's. "For our services."

"It was much better than I expected."

"Mom makes tastier meals all the time," Sarada recalled. "But for hospital food, this was better for sure. The food here even beats Konoha Hospital's food service by a mile!"

"My mom rarely cooks for me. She's often at work most of the day, since she's devoted to both her master and to her science and healing."

"Your mom is a scientist and a doctor? That's cool!"

Even after the two new friends had both finished their dinner, they remained sitting at their table, engrossed in their growing conversation. The minutes seemed to fly on by, but the two did not mind the passing of time, focusing their attention on getting to know one another more.

"Yan, why do you wear those shades of yours indoors?"

"Oh these?" Yan touched them with two fingers, but made no effort to remove them. "They're not actually shades, but heavily tinted glasses… I have a certain condition which makes my eyes very sensitive to light."

"I have a friend like that," Sarada brought up Yodo. "But instead of her eyes being sensitive to light, it's her ears that are super sensitive to sound. So she wears earphones that are always blasting with loud music."

"I've heard of that condition, but I've never seen it myself before. That sounds much cooler than what I have! If she doesn't have those earphones, she could hear everything within a long distance and be overwhelmed with all the information coming into her brain from sound alone! With my eyes… well, I'll just be blinded for a long while…"

Sarada nodded along when she felt a vibration in her pocket. Checking her phone, it read a time of 8:27 pm, and a message from Konohamaru reminding her to meet up with him and the rest of the survivors not admitted to care in the hospital at the Michishirube Tower to sleep there for the night.

"Do you need to go, Sarada?" Yan asked her worriedly with her high voice and a pouty face.

Sarada paused, before putting down her phone. "Not quite yet. I still have some time, don't worry…"

Yan moved right along with her varied lines of questioning. "Anyway, where do you live exactly?"

"Konoha, in the Land of Fire."

"That does explain why you said a while ago that you wanted to protect Konoha," Yan pieced together. "Hmm, I hear it's pleasant there, although it was hit bad during the Kara Assault."

"We've been rebuilding. By the time I return to Konoha, I'm sure most, if not all, of the reconstruction should be finished. Anyway, where do you live?"

"I live in Oto, in the Land of Sound."

"So we're neighbors," Sarada mused. "Well, neighboring countries, I mean. In any case, I've been to Oto before, and I've met Orochimaru in person on some occasions too."

Yan added, "I've also been to some of the Land of Sound's Scattered Sovereign Territories, where Lord Orochimaru has bases on. They're mostly islands off the coast, but some are actually exclaves completely surrounded by other countries…"

While Yan talked more about the Sound Nation and its Scattered Sovereign Territories, Sarada began to examine Yan in her own mind. She had fair skin, and scouring her memory from earlier, Sarada knew that Yan was just slightly taller than her. She also had extremely fast reflexes, catching her from out of nowhere a while ago, and Yan herself already told Sarada stories about her excelling in healing ninjutsu, so Sarada gave thought to the possibility that she may be competent in fighting too. Either that, or Sarada lucked out completely that Yan caught her just in time and somehow stopped their combined momentum and managed not to fall out from the building herself. Sarada's eyes travelled from Yan's pretty face down to her chest area. Her mind registered adjectives describing her upper body frame, with those adjectives ranging from 'beautiful' to 'towards the busty side', and she felt the tiniest tinge of jealousy, which was quickly overwhelmed by her curiosity.

"How old are you by the way, Yan?"

"I am 17, going on 18," Yan sung to the tune of the old song, much to Sarada's delight. "How about you?"

"I am 16, going on 17," Sarada sung back. She giggled out loud, not even realizing how loudly she did until she saw people looking at her in confusion and annoyance.

Yan nodded. "Okay, let's stop singing now. We might get forced out of here, and my mom will definitely kill me if that happens… why did you ask?"

"You're taller than me, and… yours are so big… and mine are not…"

Yan immediately figured out what Sarada was alluding to, and leaned forward smiling. ""Ohh these? Don't worry Sarada," she tried to give her encouragement. "Yours will become bigger too… probably… They grow with age, so don't you worry about your bazongas yet! No to unnecessary stress!"

"My bazongas? What?" Sarada took a few seconds to figure out what Yan had meant by the word. When she did, she heartily chuckled once again. "Ohh, I get what you mean!"

*******XXXXXXX*******

It was nearing 10:30, and Yan and Sarada were walking underneath the rainy nighttime skies of Ame to the tower Sarada and her friends would be staying at again for the time being. Because of the supertyphoon and its long reaching arms, the downpour was much stronger than it was when Sarada first arrived in Ame, but it was now nothing but a bath compared to the storm of wind, rock, metal, water, snow, and ice that she experienced at the mountain passes of Tirad.

"How are your parents right now?"

Sarada turned to Yan, who had asked her that question. "My mom is back in Konoha treating the victims of the Kara Assault. My dad came here see if I was okay, and also to help Boruto and the other survivors of my regiment out."

"Mom is helping treat the wounded, and she brought me along because she told me that Dad was coming to see us here." Yan huffed sadly. "I haven't even seen him yet though… Actually, I may have just forgotten what he looks like… I haven't seen him in around three years…"

Sarada sighed. "Absentee father too?" She shook her head. "Mine wasn't there for the first ten or eleven years of my life. I couldn't even remember his face, and when I met him for the first time, he didn't even know that I was his own daughter…"

"Yikes… Mine was there a whole lot until I was like twelve," Yan replied. "Then after my twelfth birthday, he rarely came home. By the time I was 15, he was pretty much gone from my life… I'm turning 18 this October, so it's been almost 3 years since I last saw dad…"

The two rounded the corner and neared the grandiose entrance of the Michishirube Tower. "So Yan, you live with your mom most of the time?"

"Yes, though my uncle acts as my second father-figure and takes care of me whenever both Dad and Mom are away. He's so awesome! He can make water figures of monsters and all!"

"Same! I live with both of my parents now, but I have a godfather that takes care of me whenever my parents are too busy! Even if he's the Seventh Hokage and is loaded with work, he still makes time to make sure I'm doing okay!"

"That's so cool- Wait," Ayano's eyes grew wide. "Your godfather is the Lord Hokage Naruto Uzumaki?" Sarada nodded. "NO WAY! Holy smokes!" Yan covered her cheeks. "Your godfather is so much cooler than my uncle, that's for sure."

Sarada stopped at the entrance and looked back at Yan. "I'm sure your uncle is great too. But anyway, I need to go now. Thanks for tonight!"

"Sure thing," Yan enveloped Sarada into another hug, and this time Sarada was comfortable enough to return it. "So, I'll see you tomorrow again? Or are you busy?"

Sarada laughed and shook her head. "I know I'm not going to be busy for the next few days. So yeah, I want to see you tomorrow too. Hang out? Lunch? Dinner? Sightseeing? What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"We'll see," Yan patted Sarada on the shoulder. "But lunch and sightseeing sounds fun! Good night Sarada!"

"You got it! Good night Yan! See you tomorrow! And take care while going back to wherever you're staying!"

The two parted ways, with Sarada entering the tower of the Amekage and Yan making her way back to the hospital. But the two girls did not notice that high above them, from the shadows of another building, a sleek man wearing a black hood over his head and a sword at his back had been eyeing them the entire time. "So the two of them have actually gotten to know each other," the man analyzed silently. "It looks like they're getting along well too. That's good to see… But they don't really know each other yet, and that may truly be best for now… It could be dangerous if they did…" The man turned to leave, but took one last look at the two girls. "Sarada… Ayano… Please, take care of each other…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

While the sun slowly rose higher and higher in the sky, the perennial rain showers of the Land of Rain still pounded relentlessly on the glass panes of the windows in the Michishirube tower. The days when the rain would clear up and let the sunshine reign were few and far between, and they were still considered by the inhabitants of Ame to be small miracles related to Pain and Nagato Uzumaki, even though he had been dead for more than two decades.

Inside the tower of the Amekages, in the large bedroom shared by the kunoichi from Konoha and the ladies from Iwa who had defected to their side, most of the girls were sound asleep, with the rain serving as a rhythmic lullaby of sorts to keep them asleep.

Suddenly, Sarada moaned and stirred awake when she felt someone shaking her gently. She opened her heavy eyelids, and even with her blurry vision inside the dark room, she recognized the warm smiling face of Wasabi sitting on her bedside. "Hey Sarada," she whispered, not wanting to wake up anyone else in the room, "good morning!"

"Morning, Wasabi…" Sarada groggily reached out for her glasses on the bedside table, but Wasabi got them for her and handed them to her. "Thanks," the Uchiha yawned, sat up, and stretched her arms and neck. "What time is it?"

"It's around 9:45. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Yeah, I think so," Sarada said to her friend while putting on her usual red-rimmed glasses. She then took a good look at Wasabi. She now had deep dark bags under her eyes, and her eyes, even though they clearly beamed of happiness, also looked to be dead tired. It was obvious to Sarada, and anybody else who saw Wasabi up close, that she had not slept well nor slept much in the three weeks since they had arrived at Ame. "How about you? You don't look like you've been getting anywhere near enough sleep."

"I've been staying up until the early morning so that Namida has company in the hospital." Wasabi sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Inside, I feel rested when I stay by her side and sleep next to her hospital bed. But on the outside, I look like a wreck, don't I?"

"You've been keeping watch over Namida all this time," Sarada wrapped her arm around Wasabi's shoulder. "That's three weeks of sleep deprivation. You should get some proper rest too, you know? Namida wouldn't like to see you suffering too, I'm sure of that."

Wasabi nodded and relented. "You're right, Sarada."

"But that aside, how is she doing?"

"She's doing much better now," Wasabi smiled as she thought of her girlfriend. "Her condition has improved a lot over the past three weeks. She's fully conscious. There's no memory loss or cognitive impairment from oxygen deprivation. Her lungs are working fully, and we saw no permanent or irreparable damage to them. She's slowly getting her strength back. Because of the quick pace of her recovery, she can be discharged later today…"

Sarada nodded along. "I'm relieved that Chocho, Kakashi-sensei, and everyone else is getting better. Iwabe has some memory problems because of his cerebral edema, but at least he can breathe and think normally now. And I'm so glad to hear that Namida's recovering so nicely."

Wasabi thanked her and then asked, "So what did I miss last night? Sorry again, I know you guys invited me to go along, but I had already dedicated the rest of the night for Namida."

"No, it's completely fine! No need for you to apologize for that! Namida needs you with her, so we need you to take care of her. And also, you've met Yan and hung out with her two times already, so it's not like you're missing all the opportunities!" The two chuckled and lay down on Sarada's bed for a while before Sarada recounted the events of the previous night for Wasabi. "Last night, Yan, Chocho, and I went out to Ame Town Center! It's the newest mall in Ame, and it was so nice inside! We ate at Pepper Dinner, and we stayed there for a long time, since Chocho ordered multiple dishes. At least she was the one who paid for them. After that, we went around the mall and explored the stores, and then we watched the last screening of the night at the movie house, so we left past 12:40 already. Chocho and I returned around 1 in the morning, and I think I just passed out the moment I snuggled into my bed. It was exhausting but really fun!"

Wasabi listened intently. "What movie did you girls watch?"

Sarada replied, "It was an blockbuster war film from Ame. I think the title was 'Liwayway'. It was about-"

"The Declaration of Independence of the Land of Rain? The Roar of Balin Tawak that Lady Konan told us about? The First Great Ninja War? Pugad Lawin, Celica Croa, and their fight for the dawn of this nation against the Land of Fire? Yeah."

Sarada's eyes opened wide as she saw Wasabi's knowing smirk. "How did you know?"

"There was a free screening of 'Liwayway' in the hospital mini-auditorium, paid for by the Lord Amekage himself. Namida and I were able to watch it three nights ago. Lady Konan was there, and she watched with us too!" Wasabi giggled, and then breathed heavily as she reminisced. "That last part though! Pugad Lawin and Celica Croa kissed before the rising sun, which by the way is where the movie title 'Liwayway' or Dawn came from! And then they raised the flag of the Land of Rain from the top of the Michishirube Tower after they killed the Second Hokage!"

Sarada agreed. "It was great, and yet it was so different from what we were taught in our history lessons back at the Academy. By the end of the movie, I was actually siding with the Land of Rain over the Land of Fire."

"Of course, this was from their point of view, back when they were fighting for their independence against the Land of Fire! But yeah, it was such a powerful scene! The entire movie was awesome, from start to end!"

"It truly was." The two girls sat up from their bed and saw Konan by the opened door, so they stood up in respect. The old lady waved them off and gestured for them to take it easy. "Sarada, you have a visitor-"

"Sarada! Wasabi!" Yan burst out from behind Konan and rushed into the room before diving and plopping onto Sarada's mattress beside Wasabi, much to Konan's gentle laughter. Her extremely dark tinted glasses were kept in place by a rubber strap stretching from the two pointy ends of the glasses that wrapped tightly around the back of her head. Ayano's glasses would have passed for a pair of swimming goggles if its front part wasn't open to air. "Nice to see two you again!"

"Hey Yan," both kunoichi from Konoha greeted back. Sarada then asked, "What are you doing here so early?"

"I heard from my mom that you're leaving for Konoha later today, so I wanted to invite you to one last lunch and hang out before you go."

Sarada was left speechless and confused. "What? No, we're not leaving yet! Who told her that?"

"Umm… I was about to talk to you about that," Wasabi explained. "Since we found out a while ago that Namida will be discharged from the hospital later today, Kakashi-sensei and Uncle Sasuke both decided that we should leave as soon as possible. Lord Amekage was open to us staying for a bit longer, but Kakashi-sensei didn't want us to overstay our welcome. Uncle Sasuke also said that everyone back home is worried sick, and they want to see us right away."

As Sarada listened to her, she felt a mix of emotions creating turmoil in her. She was relieved and glad to know that she would be back home very soon, that she would see her mother and Lord Hokage again, and that most of her friends would be coming back to their families. On the other hand, she still felt guilt for those who would not be coming back. She wondered to herself if things could have turned out differently had she made a few different choices.

But that aside, she also felt a spike of sadness because she and Yan had become particularly close in the past few weeks. Chocho had only fully recovered a few days ago, and there were only a handful of times when Wasabi and Hanabi weren't by Namida's bedside. Karin was busy helping nurse Chocho and Namida back to full health, so Sarada and Karin only met up a total of 4 times in the past three weeks, with the very first being their surprise meeting at the Ame Medical Center. Her father also tried his hardest to be there for her, and she knew he was trying, so she appreciated it, but it just sometimes wasn't enough. Because of all that, Yan was perhaps the only person consistently there by her side. She had become her emotional crutch, a friendly pair of ears that listened to her venting and ranting, a shoulder to cry her tears of regret on, and a true friend that she could reliably count on. _"I will miss her lots," _she thought to herself.

"As I was going to ask," Yan reiterated her question to Sarada and Wasabi, "do you want to go out for lunch? Mom gave me money, so I can treat you two to this all-you-can-eat buffet place where you get your own raw ingredients from the service and put them in a bowl to be cooked! There's rice, noodles, tofu, leeks, garlic, lots of spices, chicken, beef, pork, squid, and all kinds of sauces and toppings!"

Sarada swore that she heard her stomach rumbling upon hearing all the food available. "That sounds really appetizing! I'm in!"

"I'll come along to make up for last night," Wasabi replied. "Then after we finish lunch, we swing by the medical center to pick Namida up."

"I think we can also make a takeout-bowl for her," Yan added. "If ever we can do takeout, I'm sure you'll know what she'd love to eat!"

"I'll ask her over the phone later, just to be sure." The three girls exchanged hi-fives and got off Sarada's bed.

"I'll take a quick shower first to freshen up," Sarada told Yan, and Wasabi followed suit.

"Don't worry," Yan assured them, "we're not really in a rush!"

Before leaving the three kunoichi, Konan reminded them, "Just be sure to be back by 3 pm so you can pack up your things, because I think Lord Sixth Hokage said you'll be leaving Ame around 4."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Inside the warm and bright restaurant with a sign on the outside that said "_Sweet Inspiration: All You Can Eat Buffet"_, Yan, Sarada, and Wasabi sat at their table for three. Their steaming hot bowls had just been served to them, and they each got reusable chopsticks from the container on the table and prepared to dig in their meals. Wasabi's bowl had squid, chicken, and rice, with tofu, leeks, and spicy sauce topping it off, while Sarada had noodles as the base instead of rice, tofu and beef instead of squid, and a variety of spices and sauces that fit her bowl nicely. On the other hand, Yan's bowl was filled to the brim, and she had rice, tofu, garlic, onions, leeks, ginger, peppers, and even a spoonful of brown sugar to go along with all the pork, beef, chicken, squid, and all the sweet and spicy sauces she had put in. In fact, there was so much sauce that her white rice had turned completely golden brown after being cooked.

Sarada and Wasabi looked at their friend's overflowing bowl. "That's… a lot of food…"

Ayano chuckled. "I can finish this, I swear. Anyway, did you order a bowl for Namida already?"

Wasabi nodded. "They'll give it to us after we're done, so they can keep it hot."

The three girls chowed on their bowls of food, and within half an hour their bowls were all completely empty. The server picked up their bowls to wash them and asked if they wanted another bowl, since it was a buffet. "Thanks, but we were filled by the first bowl alone," Sarada admitted. "I don't think we can handle another bowl."

"If only Chocho was here," Yan sighed. "She would be breezing through at least three bowls."

"Around five, I'd say," Sarada corrected with a slight laugh. "But hey, she's in a food coma right now, from everything she ate last night."

Wasabi raised her hand and asked the waiter, "May I ask for the takeout bowl? And the receipt?" He nodded and left.

"By the way," Yan told her friends, "my dad actually showed up recently in Ame! For once, he visited mom and me!"

"For the first time in almost three years right?" Sarada cheered. "That's great to hear! How did it go?"

"It went well enough. Mom and I felt his love, after such a long time of not seeing him."

"Did you give him a piece of your mind?" Wasabi asked. "For him being an absentee parent and all?"

"No I didn't. I was just glad he was there spending time with me… But he'll go away again soon. He'll be working somewhere far away from us. Mom says he's a journeyman, a highly valued one at that, so people all over the continent need his services and expertise. On what, I don't really know either…" She sighed, and Sarada knew that on the other side of those black glasses, even if she couldn't see them, her eyes were threatening to spill tears. "It's like I don't even really know my dad…"

"I felt the same way towards my dad when I was younger," Sarada empathized with Ayano, "when he wasn't there for me at all. Mom always assured me that he loved me dearly, and that he was away because he loved me and wanted to protect me. I really didn't understand it at first, but when Dad and I got to spend more time together, to know one another much more, I sort of understood why…"

"Both of you," Wasabi deadpanned, "have really weird familial situations." After all three of them laughed, she continued, "I used to find my family boring. But now, I just feel lucky that my family is relatively normal and not broken apart."

Yan pointed out, "You also said that your parents accepted Namida really quickly? That's special in and of itself! There are lots of homophobic parents out there right now that would freak out and ban their kids from ever seeing their partner ever again."

Wasabi sighed. "That's Namida's parents for you."

"Ohh yeah…" Sarada looked at Wasabi. "That was really sad, that they would disown their daughter just because of her gender."

"Disowned? Holy shit!" Yan shook her head in anger. "I hope that when it's our time as parents, we can help get rid of that way of thinking. It's just disgusting and hateful."

"Yes to that!" The three girls shared a joint fist bump over the table.

The bill came soon afterwards, along with the takeout that Wasabi had ordered for her girlfriend. And after paying for the four bowls they ate, the three girls left. "So we're going to the hospital?" Yan asked Wasabi.

"Yeah. We're going to get Namida after she's cleared and discharged." She looked at her phone. "She said that she'll be discharged after 1 pm, and since it's only 11:20, we can go there and give her the takeout so she can eat lunch first. Then we can wait in her room until she's allowed to leave."

"Sounds good," Sarada and Yan replied in unison. They made their way through the rainy streets of Ame, with their umbrellas protecting them from the cold slew of raindrops. They arrived at the automatic glass doors of the Ame Medical Center around 15 minutes later, and after drying their shoes and leaving their umbrellas at a rack by the entranceway, they walked to the recovery ward and took the elevator to the third floor.

"Room 307," Wasabi reminded and rushed out the still-opening doors of the elevator, holding the plastic bag that had Namida's food inside. "It's right here," she stopped, letting Sarada and Ayano catch up to her.

"You're really excited," Yan smiled. "I find that so sweet. My mom's like that to Dad whenever they have a video chat, or whenever they get to see each other again in real life."

"Same with my parents," Sarada added happily as Wasabi knocked on the door three times. It only took five seconds for the door to be opened from the inside. The moment the door swung open, Namida pulled her girlfriend into a kiss. Wasabi tightened their embrace and kissed her back with even more passion. Yan and Sarada chuckled at the cuteness of the scene and gently nudged the two lovebirds into the room before anyone could see their display of affection in the middle of the hallway.

"Woah there!" Wasabi broke the kiss and weakly pushed Namida onto the mini sofa of her hospital room. She sat down beside her recovering girlfriend and winked. "It looks like you're very hungry today…"

Namida's face turned red from the connotations of what Wasabi just said, and her eyes turned away in embarrassment. "I… I just missed you…" It was then that she saw someone she somewhat recognize standing beside Sarada. "Wait a minute! Yan Kashiwabara? Is that you?"

The person in question grinned and adjusted her dark glasses. "Yup! Hey Namida, long time no see! We haven't seen each other since Lord Orochimaru's lab back in February!"

"Ohh, so you're Sarada's new best friend that Wasabi's been telling me about!" Namida snapped her fingers. "I should have figured it out. You do have the unique shades that she told me about too."

"They're tinted glasses hehehe," Yan corrected while rubbing the back of her head. "But yeah, small world right? Wasabi and Sarada have told me a lot about you too…"

"Yeah! It truly is a small world, after all!"

While Namida and Yan talked to each other and caught up, Wasabi set the still-warm lunch bowl that she had gotten for her girl on the table. "Hey, you should eat this before it gets too cold."

"This looks really tasty! You had this made for me?"

"I put in all your favorite ingredients and had them cook it. But Yan paid for all of us!"

"Really? Thanks Yan! This must have been expensive though, are you sure it was really okay?"

"Nah, it wasn't really that bad," Yan replied. "200 ryo per bowl, and it was unlimited? That's a steal of a deal for a meal right there!"

"Wow," Sarada reacted at Yan's rhyming. "Did you just have that at the ready for a situation like this?"

"It's been at the back of my mind for years now, and I finally got to use it! Yes hehee!"

Namida sat on the floor and ate her lunch on the low table. She visibly enjoyed the taste, and she was happily basking in the warm presence of her girlfriend Wasabi, Sarada, and her new friend Yan. Wasabi sat beside her and leaned on her beloved, while Sarada sat on the other side of Namida, and Yan leaned on the wall next to the window nearby. She stared out at the rain, her eyes focused on the large leafy trees of the relatively new city park on the other side of the street. It stood on now-grassy ground that had been previously heavily polluted by the factories, which had since been moved to the town of Marumi. The currently lively trees were said to be helping absorb and dispel the pollutants that had remained in the soil. From her spot, Yan spotted two butterflies, one pink and one blue, locked in a spiraling dance, and from behind her black glasses, her eyes followed their every move.

"You're looking much better now," Sarada commented. "No more IV's or tubes attached, and the scars of the surgeries and your wounds are fading away. The doctors really did a good job!"

"The doctors were so cool! And there was this one doctor who made the scars disappear! She allowed me to bite her arm, and somehow that gave me extra chakra to help speed up my recovery!"

Sarada smiled. "Oh, that must have been-"

_"__I'm just like you…"_ The sudden song caught the attention of the three girls, and they looked at Yan, who was singing while staring outside the window at the two butterflies flying around one another. The two beautiful bugs were close by, as they were just on the other side of the glass. _"You're just like me… There's somewhere else we'd rather be. Somewhere that's ours, somewhere where dreams come true… Yes, I'm a girl like you."_

It was then that Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida realized the song she was singing, not to mention what movie it came from, and they applauded and cheered. "Keep going Yan!" Sarada encouraged her.

"I love this song," Wasabi giggled. "And the movie too!"

"This movie was probably our collective childhood," Namida affirmed. "Princess and the Pauper is still one of my favorites! I still fangirl when I see it showing on TV."

Yan nodded and continued her song. _"You'd never think that it was so, but now I've met you and I know. It's plain as day, sure as the sky is blue, that I am a girl like you!"_

Yan walked towards Sarada, grabbed her hands, and pulled her to the more open space between the sofa and the hospital bed. She then asked, "Do you still remember the lyrics to the final chorus?"

"Yeah, why-" Without warning, Yan spun Sarada around her, and Sarada did the same so they would revolve around each other, mirroring the scene in the movie. Wasabi howled in laughter as Sarada and Yan sung as one, _"I'm just like you! You're just like me! It's something anyone can see. A heart that beats, a voice that speaks the truth… Yes, I am a girl like you!"_

While Sarada and Yan slowed down and stopped spinning around each other, Namida firmly grasped Wasabi's hand and gave her a peck on the cheek. "By the way Wasabi," she whispered. "Happy 19th monthsary…"

Wasabi's eyes grew wide as she turned to Namida, whose loving hazel eyes were gazing at her own leaf-green orbs. "Shit, is it the 28th already?"

"Ohh yeah," Sarada said, "it's July 28! Congrats, you two!"

Wasabi kissed Namida on the lips. "Happy 19th monthsary, love!" She then covered her face in her hands and shook her head. "But really, I'm sorry! I didn't even notice the date…"

"It's no problem!" Namida wrapped her arm around the back of Wasabi's shoulders and tugged her closer. "You've been at my side at the hospital this whole time anyway!" Then she thought of something. "I know just what I'll sing for us this time round! It's also from the Princess and the Pauper, so Yan, thanks for the inspiration!"

Yan tilted her head. "Which song?"

"Cat's Meow, of course!" Namida cleared her voice. _"If what you are is a strange you, doesn't mean you should change you. Only means you should change your point of view…"_ Namida knelt beside Wasabi, softly caressed her cheek, and beamed a smile. _"Hey feline, you fetch just fine. 'To thine ownself be true'."_ Their fingers clasped and intertwined tight. _"Your bow wows the cat's meow. It's how I know you're you."_

Wasabi embraced Namida, and the songbird continued her melody beside her catgirl's ear, albeit in a softer voice. _"You don't need the bows or tiara. Bid your woes sayonara. Trust your nose, cause it knows the way to go. When you chase your tail, you're enchanting. Spirits sail when you're panting…"_

Yan nudged Sarada. "Her voice is really beautiful…"

Sarada nodded. "If she chooses to be a singer in the future, I'm sure that she'll become successful singer."

_"__There is not one hair of you that I would rearrange…" _Namida snaked her arms around Wasabi's neck, while Wasabi placed her hands on Namida's sides._ "I love you the way you are, and that will never change. That will never change…"_

"Thanks Namida," Wasabi flashed a teary smile and gave another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too, my forever." But then Namida sighed. "If only Sumire was here, she would have loved to see this moment… and share in our joy…"

"Even if we survived because of her sacrifice," Wasabi admitted, "it was a Pyrrhic Victory to me. Sumire shouldn't have had to give her life up. No matter what anyone else says, or proves through statistics, or whatever else, our victory wasn't worth the price she voluntarily paid for all of us." Sarada and Namida nodded in agreement.

"Then we should dedicate this song to her," Yan suggested and sat down with the other three girls. "Songs can help bear the pain of loss, and if ever she's listening to us from somewhere, I'm sure she'll be happy… Hmm, do you all still remember the lyrics of ending song of 'Princess and the Pauper'? The one that valued love and friendship and all?"

"You mean, _'Written In Your Heart?'_ Of course!"

Yan then led the four in singing. _"And you're always free to begin again, and you're always free to believe. When you find the place that your heart belongs, you'll never leave…"_

Sarada followed up with the next verse. _"You and I will always be celebrating life together. I know I have found a friend forevermore. Love is like a melody, one that I will always treasure._ _Courage is the key that opens every door…" _

Wasabi and Namida then poured their hearts out in remembrance of their fallen teammate and best friend. _"Though you may not know where your gifts may lead, and it may not show at the start, when you live your dreams, you'll find destiny is written in your heart."_

* * *

_**Again, if you like this chapter, please feel free to leave reviews, comments, likes, kudos, follows, and favorites! Subscribe for more content (hahaha that last one made it sound like a YouTube video OMG XD)**_

_**So yeah, I made this chapter fuzzy and warm and wholesome to make up for all the emotion and sadness I inflicted from Chapters 25-27! And Yan really will be an important character, especially in the later books of this long story, so keep an eye out for her, her friendships with Sarada and Wasabi and Namida, etc!**_

_**I also revealed the monthsary of WasaNami (and by extension, the anniversary of WasaNami/the day they got together), at least in my universe! (July 28 =D) **__**So now you have a complete picture of when and how they got together (the other pertinent details were in Chapter 15: A Reason For Being Born ^_^)**_

_**Anyway, stick around for Chapter 29: "Homebound" (I literally thought of that title now, since I just decided to split 29 and 30 XD), which will either be next Sunday or two Sundays from now (early Mondays for Philippine time). After that, Chapter 30: "Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You" will drop, and that will end Book 1! I will then work on Book 2, but look out for some other works that I will post! **_

_**There may be some more BoruSumi and WasaNami stories! There might also be some Bloom Into You and RWBY stories that I can upload soon enough ;) **__**(YuuXTouko and SayakaXHaru for Bloom Into You, BlakeXYang/Bumblebee and PyrrhaXJaune/Arkos for RWBY hehehe =D)**_

_**PS: **__**I hope some of you got/appreciated all of the Barbie: Princess and the Pauper references! That movie really was a big part of my childhood, and surprisingly, I still know all of the songs by heart, even though I last saw the movie when I was around 11 or 12 (I'm 21 now XD)**_

_**PPS: Who do you think was the man looking at Sarada and Yan from shadows? =O **__**Leave your guesses in the comments ^_^**_


	29. Homebound

**_Hello everyone! Welcome back, my awesome and faithful readers! I'm a week late, yes, so here's the 29th chapter of A Tale of Grace! ^_^_**

**_This sets up a lot more lore for the following books (like the Land of Rain, the Revolution in the Rain, the First Great Ninja War, Celica Croa VS the Second Hokage/the Duel of Kudarat, Velvet Croa, the Croa Massacre, and others), and I'll expand further upon them in Book 2: A Spark of Hope, all the way up to Book 4 (no officially-official name yet, hahaha) XD_**

**_I won't waste your time anymore! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 29!  
_****_If you like it, please leave kudos/likes, comments/reviews, follows/subscriptions/favorites/whatever else, thanks! Hehee =D_**

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**Chapter 29: Homebound**

Namida Suzumeno was discharged from the hospital around 1:30 in the afternoon, and she was accompanied by Sarada, Yan, and Wasabi in walking back to Michishirube, the Beacon Tower of the city, the old iron spike rising high in the Ame skyline, the building that used to be known more than twenty years ago as the Tower of Pain. The four girls shared two umbrellas, one with Sarada and Yan underneath, and the other providing protection for Wasabi and Namida, to avoid getting too wet from the constant downpour.

"Ame nowadays looks so different compared to how it was shown in the movie," Namida observed of the city. "It's amazing…"

Yan clarified, "By movie, you mean Liwayway? It was great!"

"Yes, it was so wonderful!" Namida nodded enthusiastically. "In the movie, Ame looked so dirty and polluted and impoverished during the Revolution of the Rain. But now, it's a lot cleaner and beautiful! It looks like Konoha in the rainy season, so it's improved by leaps and bounds!"

"It has been eighty-five years since," Sarada reasoned. "Lots of things have changed in the world in that time. Konoha changed drastically too. Heck, Konoha during our parents' time just 20 to 30 years ago was nothing like it is for us now. What more about Konoha almost a century ago?"

"You're right," Wasabi agreed. "Still, given the history of the Land of Rain, you can't deny how impressive their progress is."

As the four kunoichi neared their destination of the Beacon Tower, Yan thought out loud, "Progress indeed. Michishirube, the famous Beacon Tower of the Land of Rain, used to be the tallest in old Ame, the area of the city within the original Inner Walls. But since the modern expansion of the city under the Lady Konan the Fourth Amekage, Lady Risha the Fifth Amekage, and Lord Yahikonan the Sixth Amekage, many other commercial buildings have sprung up in the new economic zones that replaced the polluting manufactories. Lots of those new buildings now rise above the height of the Beacon Tower."

"That's a bit sad actually," Sarada replied with a pensive look on her face. "I feel like sometimes, especially with the rapid progress of our world, people forget where they came from, or what came before them. Quite a lot of people get so caught up in today's modern trends that they forget or even ignore their history. And if history is forgotten, then its mistakes are likely going to be repeated…"

"You do have a point," Yan smiled. "But on the other hand, with some issues such as poverty, time is of the essence in solving them."

"And homophobia, and sexism in general," Namida and Wasabi added in unison. Wasabi continued, "Impeding progress in finding solutions for these problems adds to the suffering of the affected peoples."

The young Uchiha nodded in agreement. "Of course, that too is definitely true-"

"Sarada! Wasabi! Namida! Yan!" The four kunoichi stopped in their tracks when the distinct and powerfully loud voice of Chocho called out their names one by one. They turned and saw the Akimichi bearing down on them, with her teammates Shikadai and Inojin following her. The chubby kunoichi grabbed Sarada's shoulders and shook her back and forth. "You went to the All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet without me! Why did you leave me behind?"

"Because you were knocked out from all the food you ate last night," Sarada explained while trying to escape Chocho's clutches, much to the giggling of Yan, Wasabi, and Namida. "A surefire food coma! Also, you've been quite the strain on Yan's wallet for the last week and a half, even though you miraculously paid for your own food last night at Pepper Dinner."

"But Sarada-"

"Hold on!" Shikadai interrupted his teammate. "This isn't important right now! Have any of you seen Boruto?"

"No," the four answered near-simultaneously. Sarada asked Shikadai, "Why are you looking for him?"

"He's missing," Shikadai groaned. "He left the tower around 11 and he hasn't come back yet. He didn't tell me or anyone else where he was going. Since we're leaving Ame in a few hours, Kakashi-sensei sent us out to look for him. It's such a drag…"

The four girls were left confused. Wasabi further asked, "Where could he have gone to? Any leads?"

"We don't know," Inojin responded. "As of now, there hasn't yet been any sign of him."

Namida wondered aloud, "Could he have left Ame already?"

"It's highly unlikely that he's left the city already," Inojin explained. "All of his things are still at his bedside."

"So," Sarada questioned them, "where are you guys going to look?"

"We're heading to Kirakira's home first," Shikadai answered. "I think that she and her three friends can help us search for Boruto, since they all know him and what he looks like. Afterwards, we plan to look for him at the Lakeside District."

"You mean the place where a lot of factories used to dump their toxic wastes into Lake Ame?" Yan clarified. "The zone that has since been rehabilitated by the Amekages?"

Chocho answered, "Yup, that one. It's a pretty famous tourist and leisure spot nowadays, with a beachside mid-density residential area, the famous quay walkway along the waterfront, lots of fishing spots, a prominent pier with viewing platforms and telescopes looking out at the lake."

Shikadai added, "It even has a shrine to commemorate the duel between Lady Konan and Obito Uchiha that took place there around 2 decades ago, as well as to remember the six-billion paper explosive trap that used to exist under Lake Ame."

"Lots of places to look there," Sarada said. "Good luck to you three. We'll go back to the tower and ask Kakashi-sensei where we can help out."

"Wait, before we go…" Shikadai pulled Sarada close and whispered to her, _"I last saw Boruto in the morning… He looked even more depressed and out of it than before… It's worrying me to no end…"_

"We'll find him," Sarada assured him. "Don't worry too much about it."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Leaving their drenched umbrellas at a drying rack by the steps leading up to the entrance, Sarada, Yan, Wasabi, and Namida walked into the lobby of the tower of Michishirube. There, they looked and listened on as Konohamaru and Hanabi gave instructions to Denki, Iwabe, Houki, Hako and her doll Tokenagi, and Enko. The first two were to be sent to the Ame Town Center, the grand mall situated roughly in the middle of the bustling economic zone in between the older Inner Walls and the newer Outer Walls of Ame. The latter three were ordered to go and check the nearby wet marketplace near the Lakeside District for any clues on Boruto's whereabouts. They obeyed and sprinted out of the doorway to their assigned locations, with Hako riding her enlarged doll and getting far ahead of everyone else.

Namida greeted, "Hello Hanabi-sensei, Konohamaru-sensei!" Their attention now called, Konohamaru and Hanabi turned to the four newly arrived kunoichi.

"Oh you're back," Hanabi greeted them back. "And Namida, I'm happy to see you're all better now!"

Konohamaru asked them, "Have you girls heard what happened?"

"Yes sensei," Sarada answered. "We bumped into Team 10 on our way back. They filled us in on Boruto's disappearance."

Wasabi added, "How can we help out?"

"We were just about to ask the same thing," said Gengania, who walked into the ground floor lobby with Panga, Conwi, and the five other ladies from Iwa. "Lord Kakashi told us about what was going on."

"We want to help," Panga nodded in agreement with Gengania. "We can ask on the streets if anyone has seen Boruto. We have his picture on our phones anyway."

"Wait, how?" Konohamaru immediately realized the answer to his own question. "Oh right, you girls are already connected with everyone here on social media."

"Yeah," Yamada and Tomoka giggled and nodded. Tomoka continued, "We're all friends now on OpenBook, Twit, and Picturesque."

"Going back to our offer," Conwi pressed, "would it help if we asked the people on the streets if anyone has seen Boruto?"

Hanabi nodded. "In fact, we were going to do that too. And yes, it would certainly be better if we had more help. Thank you so much!"

"No problem," Gengania grinned. "It's only right for us to help, since you're all helping us begin new lives in Konoha."

"Still, thank you for volunteering to help. Let's all go together, okay?" Konohamaru then looked at Sarada, Yan, Wasabi, and Namida. "And how about you four? You can come with us if you like, but you can also stay behind and help Lady Konan with the cameras on the CCTV system."

"Hmm… I think there's enough people physically searching for Boruto as is," Sarada responded. "We'll be more helpful staying here."

"Agreed," Yan affirmed. "We'll scour the CCTV video playback and see if there's any more useful information we can gather."

"With Wasabi's cat-eyes and perfect vision," Namida boasted of her girlfriend, "I'm sure she'll be able to spot anything out of the ordinary!"

The senseis of Team 7 and Team 15 accepted their decision, and they left with the eight girls from Iwa, who had become good friends with the group over the past three and a half weeks since their surrender.

"Ughhh, I'm sure my eyes are going to hurt after this," Wasabi sighed. "Staring at many small frames on a big screen for a long time isn't fun for me at all, especially when they're all playing at the same time…"

"I believe in you," Namida assured her. "And you're not going to do this alone, remember? The Fourth Amekage and all four of us are going to be there too."

Wasabi snorted. "You're right. We share in our sufferings-"

She was cut off when suddenly, another woman ran into her, sending them both crashing to the floor. "Ouch… Watch where you're going…"

"I'm so sorry!"

"Umm…" Sarada, Yan, and Namida all trailed off, with Yan in particular gulping nervously.

The woman reached out for her smartphone, which had landed a short distance from where they fell. She then stood up quickly and held out her hand when she recognized Wasabi, Sarada, and the others. "Oh hello there! You're also looking for Boruto, aren't you?"

Wasabi looked up and saw the Fifth Amekage, Lady Risha Brunel, offering her hand to help her up. The moment her mind registered who it was standing in front of her, Wasabi's eyes opened wide, her hands grew cold, and her face paled. "Oh no, Lady Risha! I… uh, I'm so sorry if I sounded disrespectful a few seconds ago! I didn't know it was you, Lady Fifth! I should have moved out of the way!"

"No, no, no," Risha shook her head and laughed. "I'm a real klutz, and everyone here knows it. Telling me to be more careful isn't disrespectful to me. Please don't worry, Wasabi!" She grabbed Wasabi by the wrist and pulled her up to her feet.

Risha's long green hair was dripping from the unrelenting rain of Ame, along with most of her exposed skin, though her clothes seemed to have a waterproof outer layer to keep her warm and dry inside. Still, the Fifth Amekage had a radiantly warm aura and a heartwarming smile plastered on her face, which indicated to the four young kunoichi that by virtue of all the forty-seven years of her life that she had lived and spent in the perpetually rainy city, she wasn't bothered by being soaking wet, she was already used to not using umbrellas, and she was in fact quite happy to be under the rain.

"Anyway," the Fifth Amekage looked at her phone, "I just came back from a meeting with the members of my group, the Rain's Watch. Not one of them saw Boruto from their posts and patrol routes along the Inner Walls. That must mean that he's still somewhere within old Ame… In other words, he's still somewhere within the original Inner Walls of the city."

Sarada sighed. "Where could he have gone?"

"Konan messaged me that Boruto was last confirmed seen on the CCTV cameras in the lobby," Risha informed them. "Apparently, he left the tower around 11 am."

"We want to see the CCTV footage ourselves," Yan told her, "just in case we can get more information."

Wasabi added, "Maybe we can figure out what parts of old Ame he could have gone to, based on where he headed after leaving the tower."

"So," Namida asked," can we please check the CCTV on playback?"

Risha agreed to their request enthusiastically. "Of course, follow me!" She walked over to the elevator and pressed the button with the symbol for going up. While waiting for the reflective metallic doors to open and the elevator to arrive, she pointed out, "And I think I can help getting the playback footage of the security cameras. After all, I was the one who had these cameras installed here."

The elevator doors parted open, and Risha, Sarada, Yan, Wasabi, and Namida all entered the spacious elevator compartment. Inside were only six buttons for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and tenth floors respectively. While the first five buttons were lit, the last button was left unlit. Beside the button for the tenth floor was an ID scanner, meaning that direct access to the tenth floor landing from the ground floor lobby was restricted to only those who had the necessary identification. The four kunoichi from Konoha watched as Risha held up her phone screen to the scanner. After a few seconds, the scanner accepted her clearance to the tenth floor, since she was the Fifth Amekage. The button then lit up, and Risha quickly pressed it. However, before the elevator could close shut, a pair of white hands slipped through and forced the metal doors back open. Sarada exclaimed, "Mitsuki!"

The people inside the elevator saw Mitsuki pulling himself to the elevator, retracting his outstretched arms in the process. Meanwhile, Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou all ran in behind him. Mitsuki informed everyone, "Boruto's not in the area of Kirakira's subdivision. We checked every street." After they all entered the now-crowded elevator, the doors shut closed, and the lift began to move upwards.

"Team KVEM," Risha remarked and smiled upon seeing the foursome of Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou. "I often see you girls training in Ame Academy from my tower post at the Inner Walls. I must say that from what I've seen so far, you four have great potential as a team."

Magilou thanked her in her unique singsong voice while bowing her head. "Thank you Lady Risha, for your kind words and optimistic appraisal!"

"But it's true. In any case, you're also helping out with the search?"

"Yes Lady Fifth," Velvet answered. "We were having a sleepover for our group project at Kirakira's place when Mitsuki came by and asked us to help look for Boruto."

Eleanor added, "Because he seemed like a nice person when we met him, and because Kirakira said that she owes Boruto a lot for helping save her from the Fourth Tsuchikage."

Meanwhile, Kirakira waved to the young Uchiha, who was both her former foe and her old friend. "Sarada! It's nice to see you after so long."

"Kirara! Yes, long time no see! It's great to get to talk to you once again. Oh, and your name is Kirakira now, right? I heard that from Boruto and Lady Fourth." The former fabrication that had become fully human nodded. "Good. When Shikadai told me you chose new name, I was worried that you went with Boruto's suggestion. I'm glad you didn't."

"Tiger Festival? I don't think it's that bad-"

"No need to defend it. It's not a good name for anyone. What you went with is so much better… Speaking of Shikadai, he was also headed to your place to ask for help."

"Really now? We didn't see him. Maybe we took different routes?"

The elevator slowed down and stopped, and the shiny doors opened to the main hallway of the tenth floor. Next to the elevator was the long staircase that connected floors five through ten together. "Just follow my lead," Risha reminded the others as she walked through the wide hallway, her long olive green hair and off-white clothing still leaving behind long trails of rainwater droplets behind her. Those who accompanied her followed close behind, and after a short while, they stopped in front of a large dark wooden door. "The Chamber of the Amekages," Risha proudly stated and knocked thrice on the door. "Konan, it's me-"

The door opened immediately, and Konan took one look at her best friend and sighed while tossing the green-haired lady two fresh towels. "Risha, how often do I tell you to take better care of yourself? I get that you love the fresh rain, especially since it's not polluted anymore like it used to be. But at least bring towels with you so you can dry yourself up. You might get sick or catch a cold, always being under the rain like that…"

"Thanks for always caring for me," Risha laughed heartily while going inside the room and heading straight for the CCTV system screen. "But you know I can take care of myself too… or at least, the bare minimum of taking care of myself…"

Konan rolled her eyes playfully, before looking at the people Risha had brought along to help. "Sarada, Wasabi, Yan, Mitsuki, welcome back. And Namida, I'm glad to see you've fully recovered." She turned to the other four girls, who began waving and smiling at her. "Kirakira Iwatani, Velvet Croa, Eleanor Shiribeshi, and Magilou Satsuma… Team KVEM. Hmm, it is a bit of a surprise to see you here, although I do understand why. Come in, everyone."

As they all walked with awe into the huge, warm, and well-lit chamber, the many shelves of which were filled with many books and memorabilia from decades past, Sarada wondered aloud, "Lady Konan, how do you know everyone here? Not just us, but Kirakira and her friends too?"

Konan smiled. "I know them because I'm the headmistress of Ame Academy," she revealed, to the surprise of Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida. "And they are excellent students with great potential to be modern kunoichis, so I keep my eyes on them…" She chuckled. "It also helps that they often end up in my office, one way or another. But don't worry, it's never anything that serious."

Risha spoke up, "I can vouch for their potential too! By the way, I'm working on getting the video playbacks, but it might take a while. I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Thank you!" Konan then continued explaining to the kunoichi from Konoha, "Kirakira Iwatani, the diamond in the rough, a gem of the rock hidden away, one who fought to actually live. Magilou of the Satsuma family: determined and persevering, unique, even mysterious, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Eleanor Shiribeshi, the scion of the largest clan-corporation in the Land of Rain, yet still a brilliant mind and an all-around fighter. And Velvet Croa…"

Konan turned to the girl with the bandaged arm and the long black hair with a red streak on the side, and Sarada and the others followed suit. She was standing in front of the blue section of the wall where the busts and paintings of all six Amekages were lined up. The first bust and painting was that of Pugad Lawin, the First Amekage, who was painted along with his wife and partner Celica Croa. To the right of that painting was the Second Amekage, Hanzo of the Salamander, followed by the Third Amekage, Nagato Uzumaki, with his six Paths of Pain. The still-living Amekages came afterwards, with the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amekages being Konan Uzumaki, Risha Brunel, and Yahikonan Uzumaki respectively. Above Konan's marble bust were two frames, the upper one an oil painting of her in her younger days, and the lower one a colored picture that resembled her more as she was currently. In fact, the frames for Risha and Yahikonan were also no longer paintings, but pictures.

Sarada asked herself in her own mind, _"Why does Lady Konan have two frames?"_ She quickly figured out the answer to her own question. _"Oh, because she technically had two terms as Amekage, right. And that second term of hers as Amekage was in between Lady Risha and Lord Yahikonan… And its seems that Lady Risha is the one who started the trend of choosing pictures over paintings."_

While Risha was still typing away at the computer screen to bring up the relevant playbacks of all the security video cameras, Konan and the others approached Velvet, who was staring engrossed at the portrait of the First Amekage and his wife. "You look just like your great-grandmother," Konan commented and patted her shoulder. "You have her dark silvery eyes, the same skin, the same smile, and the same shade of black hair, even with your rose-red streak."

"I get that a lot… Thanks Lady Fourth…"

The gears began to move in Sarada's head, and things suddenly made sense for her. Her eyes widening at the realization, she rushed to Velvet's side. "Wait, you're related to Celica Croa?"

Wasabi put two and two together as well, and she too was astounded. "You mean Celica from the movie 'Liwayway'? The heroine of the Ame Revolution and the First Great Ninja War?"

Namida piled on with a lot of questions, "The one with the silver eyes? The one who used the awesome weapon that was a cross between a sword, a spear, and a musket? The one who saved the First Amekage and killed the Second Hokage in single combat during the Duel of Kudarat? The Angel of Death?" She held Velvet's hand. "Amazing… It feels like I'm part of history now too, just by knowing someone related to a great historical figure…"

Velvet sighed playfully and nodded to all their questions. "I am Velvet Croa, the great-granddaughter of Celica Croa. Though I don't think that I'm anywhere as badass as she was."

Yan gently pulled the stunned Namida away from Velvet and then moved her back to Wasabi's waiting arms. "Please forgive my friends. We all watched Liwayway recently, and Celica Croa was one of the two main protagonists in the movie. We certainly didn't expect to get to know or even be mutual friends with one of her descendants."

"No worries, I wasn't mad at them or anything at all. Thanks though." Velvet then asked Konan, "You know her, Lady Fourth?"

Konan nodded. "I know her quite well. Even at 103 years old, she's still quite active and witty."

"Wait a minute," Wasabi gasped, "she's still alive? The movie didn't say that in the end-credits."

"Not only is she still alive," Konan replied, "but she's still able to run her old store on the corner of Revolutionary Road and Elder Sora Avenue. Whenever I need some supplies, usually for Ame Academy, I go there. She still recognizes me, and we have long chats about the past, about the history of Ame, where the nation is going, and more."

"We've got to visit this store before we go home to Konoha! We have to get her autographs, and maybe even take pictures with her!" Namida said to Sarada, Wasabi, and Yan, who all agreed.

"That's where she lives actually," Velvet told the four of them. "I can lead you guys to it later!"

"Everyone, before that," Risha raised her hand and pointed on the large flat screen on the other side of the chamber. "The playback is up on the screen now." Konan leaned forwards onto the sofa's backrest, while everyone else sat on the sofa or on the floor closer to the screen. "Pay attention for any clues," Risha ordered, "or for anything that seems out of the ordinary."

The video playback began, and on the huge screen, 64 camera angles simultaneously played out, each on their own smaller rectangular frames. The people seen on the cameras seemed to be running weirdly or even warping from one spot to another, and their jarring, jerky motions were reminiscent of the first moving pictures, the black-and-white silent movies of old. "Our ground level staff reported seeing him leaving the entrance around 11 o'clock," Konan informed Risha. "To simplify our task, how about we narrow our search down to the relevant cameras."

"Unfortunately," Risha responded, "I either need to play all the camera angles at once, or only one camera at a time. That's how this particular CCTV system works, so just focus on the cameras inside the lobby and at the entrance. They're all on the right anyway."

Sarada glanced towards Yan. "Do you think you'll be able to see much in those dark-tinted glasses of yours?"

"All the more that I'll need these glasses," Yan chuckled. "It's a flat-screen TV emitting lots of light and electromagnetic radiation. My eyes are going to be really irritated if I don't use them while watching…"

"I'll play the videos at 4x speed," Risha clicked. After about two minutes of scanning the screen, the unmistakable figure of Boruto finally appeared in one of the camera frames. It was a camera at the corner of the ceiling of the ground floor lobby, and from there the elevator was visible. Risha paused the video and pointed him out to make sure everyone was on the same page. She then continued the video playback at normal speed, and from there five more cameras showed Boruto walking through the lobby, out the main doors of the tower, and to the right side of the stairs, where he disappeared from the view of the last camera to spot him. The time shown on the bottom tab was 11:08:37 am.

Risha paused the video again. "So he went right after leaving the tower. Look at the cameras where you can see streets, okay?" She resumed the playback, and for a minute they kept looking, but there simply was no more trace left of Boruto. After nobody saw anything, Risha replayed the last minute of the video and tried again, but the end result was the same. None of the people watching the CCTV playback saw Boruto after he left the tower, and none of them could figure out in what exact direction he went to.

"This is weird," Risha thought out loud. "We should have spotted him on either one of the two cameras looking out from the sides of the entrance, if he continued walking where anyone logically would along the road."

At the same time, Wasabi, Mitsuki, Kirakira, and Magilou all shared suspicious glances with each other, as if the four of them had noticed the exact same thing. "Lady Risha," Wasabi asked, "can you focus on Camera 27? The camera that's to the right side of the entrance?"

"Sure thing." Risha double-clicked the camera in question and replayed the last minute once again.

Namida glanced at her girlfriend. "What is it? Did you see anything?"

"Wait… pause it!" Risha immediately paused the video, and Wasabi, Kirakira, and Magilou stood up, walking closer to the screen. Magilou pointed her finger on a slight blur in the camera. "There, I think that's puff of white smoke rising in the cold rainy air…"

Risha hit play, and sure enough, the blurry cloud seemed to move upwards. "That's definitely not a raindrop," Kirakira commented.

"Holy shit…" Sarada realized what had happened. "We were watching his shadow clone the entire time."

"If that's his shadow clone," Namida continued the thought, "then that means that he may have left the tower by a different way."

Sarada suggested, "Or… he may not have left the building at all…"

"Let's scour the footage of the cameras inside," Konan ordered. Risha moved the timer back to 11:08:37, and put back all the camera angles on the screen at the same time, before hitting the play button and letting all the angles play out in unison at four times their actual speed.

Meanwhile, Yan turned her eyes to Sarada, and she noticed that her friend was growing visibly worried. "Sarada, what's wrong?"

"I'm worrying about Boruto," she admitted. "Shikadai told me earlier that he didn't look good, that he seemed more down than ever."

"I saw him earlier this morning too, around 8 or something," Wasabi sighed without taking her eyes off of the screen. "He passed by me when I came back from hospital, and I heard him mumbling Sumire's name… I just didn't think of it much then because I was sleep-deprived, and the only thing I was thinking about was Namida…"

"I'm worried that he might have done something stupid…"

"Oh no…" Kirakira chimed in. "That is making me concerned too…"

"Truly," Eleanor sighed. "And it's been hours since he was last seen, so he may already have-"

"Pause it!" Wasabi shouted, finally closing and rubbing her strained eyes. "Camera 60!" Risha rewound the tape slightly to the time of 11:13:41 then paused, and she enlarged the frame to full screen like what she did to Camera 27. This time, there was a motion-blurred figure, partly black and partly yellow, that ran by what everyone inside the room recognized were the doors to the Amekage Chamber, the same doors they had entered through not even fifteen minutes prior.

"That's Boruto for sure," Velvet reasoned. "He's the only one here with bright blonde hair…"

Risha nodded in affirmation. "He was heading in the direction of… the outside viewing platform…" She turned to Konan, a troubled expression on her face. "You haven't received any reports of jumpers today, I hope?"

*******XXXXXXX*******

Ten stories above the concrete pavement that lined the streets and sidewalks of Ame, Boruto Uzumaki sat on the wet steel ledge, his legs dangling dangerously over the edge of the viewing platform outside the tenth floor of the famous Beacon Tower of Ame, Michishirube. Unbeknownst to him, that was also the very spot where Nagato and Konan used to sit together more than two decades ago.

The blonde shinobi let out a tired breath and quickly checked his waterproof watch. It was 2:12 pm, and it was still raining, as is most usually the case in Ame. Boruto was very careful not to slip or lose his grip on the ledge, even if every square inch of his body was fully drenched from having been under the rain for more than three hours. In that span of time, he had ignored all of his friends who were calling out his name from within the tower, outside the tower, and deeper into the city of Ame. After all, the whole reason why he had sent out his shadow clone to misdirect everyone in the first place was so that he wouldn't be disturbed. The last thing he wanted was for any of his friends to see him as he was now.

Closing his long-reddened eyes and balling his hands into clenched fists, Boruto let his tears once again flow down their now familiar route down by his cheeks, nose, lips, jaw, and neck, where they would be stopped by his shirt, which was soaked by both the tireless rain and the relentless tears. Over the past three weeks, he had tried to bury and suppress all of his negative emotions in his mind, but they kept returning and relapsing. Now he bore all of his guilt in his chest, which was in considerable pain from having sobbed for hours.

His regret was that of surviving, of not being able to do more for his friends, of not being strong enough to save the one who loved him, the one he loved too. He felt unworthy of life, partly because of his contributions to the deaths of Metal and Renga, partly for not recognizing Sumire's feelings for him and vice versa, and mostly for not saving Sumire, even if it could have led to his own death. In Boruto's eyes, Sumire's life and happiness and future were just as important to him as his own, but now she was gone and never coming back, and to the young Uzumaki, it was his fault.

Looking down once again at the street far below him, with the falling raindrops somewhat obscuring the view of the bottom, he was reminded of the black chasm that he saw Sumire fall into. It was the last thing he saw before he was jarred awake in the talons of Inojin's gliding paper bird. And each time Boruto looked down from his perch at the top of the Beacon Tower, his mind was pestered with regrets and what ifs, with thoughts of jumping after Sumire, with thoughts of taking a leap of faith into the darkness of the abyss and hoping that somehow he'd meet her there at the bottom and save her. These thoughts have eaten at him for the past three or so hours, but until now he had held them at bay.

All of a sudden, the doors to the viewing platform swung open, and Boruto heard many footsteps approaching him. He knew then that his diversion, although clever, had been found out.

"BORUTO!"

Boruto knew the familiar angry voice to be Sarada's. He sighed and turned his head to where he heard her call. "Sarada-"

"What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell anyone where you were? Why don't you tell anyone what you're feeling? Why did you even have to send out your fucking shadow clone as a diversion to send everyone on a damned wild goose chase?"

For a few lingering seconds, Boruto's near-lifeless orbs stared blankly back into Sarada's flaming Sharingan eyes. Then he closed his eyes, shook his head, and turned back to look over the edge once again.

Sarada panicked. "Wait! Boruto, please don't!" Boruto did not budge, nor did he react to her in any way.

Still, taking no chances, Konan formed a giant paper cord from the paper cells of her own hand, wrapped it around Boruto's waist, and gently pulled him away from the ledge. "It's okay… You're not alone… We're here…"

"Boruto…" Namida wrapped her arm around his neck and helped lead him to the others. She comforted him in her soft and empathetic voice, "I know that Sumire was important to you… She was important to me too, and to Wasabi and to Sarada and to everyone… So please believe me when I say this, but Sumi wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. We both know that."

Wasabi knelt on one knee in front of Boruto. "If I sound angry, I promise you that I'm really trying not to be. I'm more disappointed than angry, honestly. You won't even bother honoring Sumire's sacrifice, her single greatest act of love for you and for me and for every single one of our friends, because you were thinking of ending your own life."

"Please… Stop…" Boruto sobbed. "Please… I don't want to hear it… I don't want to see anybody or talk to anybody-"

"No, I won't stop!" Boruto tried to push Wasabi away, but she resisted him, throwing his arms aside and grabbing his shoulders.

"Dammit Boruto!" Wasabi defied him, lifting his chin up so she could look him directly in the eyes. "Listen you, we're all experiencing the pain of losing her! You're not the only one dealing with this excruciating pain right now!"

"Wasabi, calm down please…" Namida pleaded with her girlfriend, hugging her arm and making it relax its grip on Boruto's shoulder. "I understand what Boruto is going through right now. Remember when my parents disowned me a few weeks ago, all for loving you? I also felt so much regret and worthlessness, but you helped me through that night by showing me empathy and love. How about we do the same for the person that our Sumire loved most, okay?"

"…Sorry… You're right…" The cat-like kunoichi exhaled loudly to relieve some of her building frustration. "Listen Boruto… I loved her too, and so did Namida and Sarada and Hanabi-sensei… Maybe not in the same way that you two grew to love each other, but she was an important part of our lives too! And you probably don't know this because you weren't with us that night, but we girls swore to always value and remember her sacrifice and to keep her memory alive, by making sure that we all live on to tell everyone her story.

"I wasn't going to jump," Boruto sighed to Wasabi. "I admit that I was been thinking of it, but I know that the fall won't kill me. I've survived much worse, and at worst, my shinobi instincts will still make sure to save me. If ever I did jump, I'll only injure myself badly, and I'll end up delaying everyone from returning home to Konoha and seeing their families again, which would be one more thing that I'd feel guilty of."

"I remember when we became friends a few years ago, when I was about to give myself up to Lady Tsuchikage," Kirakira reminded Boruto, paraphrasing his own words to her from the time she fled the Land of Earth. "You told me to value my life, to show that I value my life by living every second to the fullest, and to never give up my life without fighting to stay alive up until my final breath." She gently smiled. "I'll always be grateful for those words of yours, and I think you should follow your own advice too. Please Boruto, don't think your life is better off discarded, because it's not."

Before Boruto could even respond to Kirakira, Risha opened the door and motioned for everyone to come back inside the tower. Mitsuki and Kirakira dragged Boruto inside, while Wasabi, Namida, Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou followed close behind him to ensure that he wouldn't go off to anywhere else. Only Konan, Sarada, and Yan were left outside. "At least in the end," Konan told the other two, "nothing bad happened, right?" Sarada and Yan nodded. "In any case, I should contact everyone and call off the search." She ran back inside and entered the room for the Amekages.

"We should go back inside too." Sarada began to walk to the door, but only took a few steps when she noticed that Yan wasn't following her. She looked at Yan and saw that she looked uncomfortable, like something was disturbing her. "What's wrong, Yan? Is it Boruto?"

Ayano nodded and slowly walked to the shelter of the doorframe. "Did you also feel the negative aura that surrounded Boruto? I could almost see it… it was like a shadow of darkness that entirely surrounded him…"

Sarada pulled her back inside the tower and closed the door behind them. "Yes… I did feel it too."

"It felt as if he had some sort of killing intent, but for himself," Yan told Sarada. "It scares me, how much anger he has towards himself."

Sarada looked at her friend's dark glasses, where she could see her own reflection standing out in the blackness of the glass lenses as if they were black mirrors. She breathed heavily and nodded. "I know that he's trying and failing to keep all of his emotions bottled up inside himself. He might not want to be a burden on anybody else, but he's still making us all really worried sick for him."

"He's like a dam that's close to failing, close to bursting open," Yan compared, "but is still straining with all of its might not to give way…" She then crossed her arms together. "What can we do to help? Do you think we can do anything for him?"

Sarada shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I feel that friends and family spending time with him more could help him, along with therapy sessions like what Sumire used to have with her psychiatrist…" She shook her head. "But we can only help Boruto if he too wants to help himself."

*******XXXXXXX*******

As per Kakashi's request, everyone headed home for Konoha and left Michishirube, the Beacon Tower of Ame, a few minutes past 3:45 in the afternoon. They were accompanied to the Ame Train Station by Konan and Risha, the Fourth and Fifth Amekages respectively, as well as a crowd of Ame citizens who cheered them and thanked them for all the effort and sacrifices they committed in defending their beloved nation, the Land of Rain, from the enemy invasion. The crowd honored them by throwing flowers at them, and so what used to be a mere rain shower became a dance between the cold raindrops and colorful petals.

"The train taking us to the city of Marumi is scheduled to arrive around 4:25," Kakashi mentioned to the younger shinobi and kunoichi under his charge. "It'll depart at around 4:30. We'll get to Marumi between 4:50 and 5:00 pm, and from there, we'll walk the rest of the way to Konoha."

"I talked to my father two days ago," Denki told his friends. "He told me he was fast-tracking the Kaminarimon Company's plan to build a Lightning Rail from Konoha to Marumi for both passengers and cargo. He said it was to help provide a faster and more direct line of connection between the Land of Fire and Land of Rain, and to further strengthen the economic and diplomatic ties between the two countries."

"I'm sure that my son would be thrilled to hear the details of your father's plan," Konan replied and strolled beside Denki. "I heard that the Shiribeshi Corporation also has some ideas for a railway between our two nations. Perhaps the two companies can enter some sort of arrangement regarding its construction." She turned to Eleanor Shiribeshi, who was walking two steps behind her. "What do you think, Eleanor? Would your father be open to the idea?"

The scion of the largest corporation in the Land of Ame smiled graciously. "I'm sure that if things go well, the Shiribeshi Corporation and the Kaminarimon Company can reach an agreement." She then rushed her pace slightly to catch up to Denki and Konan. "And I heard your name was Denki Kaminarimon," she grinned and extended her hand whilst walking. "I'm Eleanor Shiribeshi. You can call me Ellie though, if you want."

Denki blushed, looked away for a second, before looking back at Eleanor and shaking her hand. "You can call me Denki!"

As they neared the street named Elder Sora Avenue, Velvet noted to Sarada and Yan, "We're actually close to my great-grandmother's shop."

"Really?" They asked at the same time.

"Yeah, it's just three blocks away from the upcoming intersection. Are we still going there?"

"Right! We'll ask for permission first!" Sarada then asked Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensei, can some of us take a detour first?"

Kakashi questioned them, "Where to? And who's going with you?"

"Wasabi, Namida, Yan, and I want to go meet the old war hero Celica Croa. Velvet and her friends will lead us to her store. It's likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, since she's already 103 and all."

"Hey! Can we join too?" Chocho, Enko, and Hako ran towards the growing group of girls. "We watched Liwayway too, and Celica's like our idol now. We didn't even know she was still alive, so we want to meet her too!"

Kakashi thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. "Just be back before 4:30, alright?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei! Thank you!"

The large group split into two, and Velvet, Eleanor, Magilou, and Kirakira led the way for Sarada, Yan, Namida, Wasabi, Chocho, Enko, and Hako, the last of which had her doll Tokenagi wrapped on her back and shoulders like a backpack. Velvet sprinted faster than anyone else, faster than even Wasabi, and with her red hood and clothes, she seemed like a blur that was red like roses. After a few minutes of running along the mostly covered sidewalk, Velvet stopped at the corner of Elder Sora Avenue and Revolutionary Road. As the others caught up to her, she looked up and gestured to the shop. The sign above the store read, "_From Dawn To Dust_."

"Here we are!" She opened the door for everyone, entered the store, and exclaimed, "Hello super-granny! You have lots of visitors right now. They wanted to meet you because they saw the new movie! The one with you as the central character!"

Everyone else followed Velvet inside the shop, and they saw at the counter an old woman with long flowing white hair, a wrinkly smile, and deep, piercing silver eyes gazing back at them. "Hello everybody," the old woman greeted with a strong albeit old-sounding and slightly raspy voice. "I'm Celica Croa-" She coughed twice and sighed. "My apologies, I have an itchy throat today, so my voice is softer than usual…"

"No worries," Wasabi stepped forward and shook her hand. "We're just glad to have the opportunity to meet you in person."

Namida continued, "We were actually just hoping for pictures and autographs with you."

"I can sign and take photographs," Celica agreed to their requests. "My hands aren't trembling yet, so at the very least, my signature should still be recognizable."

Chocho turned giddy. "We're going to have photographs with a living legend, a national heroine of another country! I'm so going to upload these on my Twit and Picturesque accounts…"

All of the girls present gathered around Celica for a large group photo, and Eleanor volunteered her smartphone for the pictures. "I'll make a group chat and send you girls all the pictures online," she assured them. "I have really fast Wi-Fi at home, so it won't take long to send." She placed it on a nearby shelf and entered a timer of seven seconds on the camera before running back to her place beside her friends. She made it with time to spare, and the flash that arrived two seconds after she got into position signaled that the photo had been taken. The group photo done, Eleanor then took more pictures, specifically of Celica with Hako and Tokenagi, with Chocho, with Enko, with Sarada and Yan, and with Wasabi and Namida. Finally, she handed off her phone to Sarada and joined her friends to pose for their team photo. Magilou was at the left end, with Kirakira beside her. Celica was in the center, with Velvet next to her, and Eleanor was at the right end.

After Sarada took the photo of Team KVEM with Celica Croa, the elderly war heroine of the Land of Rain took a permanent marker and signed, among other things, handkerchiefs from Chocho and Hako, since Tokenagi adamantly refused to have anything signed directly on him. She also signed a poster of the movie Liwayway, the recently released blockbuster war movie and love story that showed Celica Croa and her exploits during the Revolution of the Rain and the First Great Ninja War almost 85 years prior, which belonged to Wasabi and Namida. "We'll frame this when we get back to our home," Wasabi told Celica.

"I'm sure you will," Celica smiled, although her voice was rough from her coughing that day. "Did you know that I had a role in the movie too?"

"A cameo?"

"No, just a consultant role. My memory is still sharp even after all these years, and I remembered everything about Ame during my youth; how it looked like, how it felt like, how people and society were back then, how things changed after the Ame Revolution, and what my major engagements in the First Great Ninja War were. Lady Konan was also a consultant, but more for the facts and historical accuracy of the movie, since the Amekage Chamber is a treasure trove of books and artifacts from the era."

Celica then turned to Velvet. "By the way, how has school been for you? And are you still in that old apartment of yours that Amado pays for?"

"School's been great! Team KVEM is one year away from officially becoming kunoichis! And yeah, I still sleep in that apartment, but I also sleepover with my friends a lot too, mostly over at Kirakira's place, but sometimes at Magilou's and Eleanor's too."

"And where's your Uncle Amado at right now? How is he?"

"He's fighting along with the rest of Kara," she responded, "avenging our clan in the process."

"I just hope he comes home again, safe and sound…"

Meanwhile, Yan got a handful of things from the store, paid for it with the honesty system machine at the front, and approached Celica. She handed the elderly woman a postcard of the Beacon Tower, Michishirube, and a red and black wallet. "Can you please sign these, ma'am?"

"Sure thing! What name should I put on them?"

"Yan on the postcard, and Sarada on the wallet. Thank you!" Celica jotted down the names and her signature onto the two items and gave them back to Yan with a smile.

"Sarada…" Yan gave her the wallet. "This is my parting gift to you, something for you to remember me by. A wallet with your colors, and signed by a war heroine too!"

"Thank you so much, Yan," she replied. "But you didn't have to get me anything! And I'm not going to forget you! We're friends online now, remember? We can chat anytime!"

"I mean, you're right… But I wanted to give you something anyway!"

*******XXXXXXX*******

"We're here," Eleanor gestured as she led the others through the revolving doors and front glass façade of the city train station. "Ame Metro Train Station, designed and built by my father's company. And you girls have time to spare. It's only 4:24, and it looks like the train hasn't arrived yet."

Walking through the heated interior of the station, the kunoichi from Konoha saw Shikadai, Inojin, Denki, and most of the group sitting on several long benches, eating burgers and ramen from the food court inside the station, and conversing with each other. Chocho ran towards the cafeteria-style food court and immediately ordered multiple burgers from Tropical Burger, while Enko and Hako joined the eight ladies from Iwa at Ramen-Ramen, and Mitsuki, Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou all sat down at Shawarma Shack, ordering one shawarma pita each.

"I'll go to the bathroom first," Yan excused herself from Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida. "I'll be right back."

"Wait," Sarada held her by the arm, "what do you want to eat? I can pay this time."

Yan looked at the stalls. "Hmm, the yogurt will do, if the three of you are okay with it."

They agreed, and so Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida ordered four large yogurt servings with various fruit toppings. However, upon sitting down, the three of them noticed that, separate from everybody else, Boruto sat alone in utter silence on the other side of the waiting area. Sarada felt bad for him, and she was sure that everyone else felt the same way. But they could not help him any more than they've already tried to, since he refused to open up to them or anyone else any further.

Suddenly, a loud warning horn was heard approaching, and the telltale screeching of applied brakes was heard shortly after. Soon, the blue train came into view inside the station and came to a stop. The doors opened, and a flood of people came pouring out of the sleek rainy-blue Rain-ways train.

"Sarada!" The young Uchiha barely had time to turn her head before being enveloped by a hug from her Aunt Karin. "I'm glad I caught you before you left!"

Sarada laughed and deepened the hug. "Aunt Karin! We haven't gotten to hang out that much, like we wanted to."

"I know, and I'm really sorry about it. I've been so busy… It was tough to treat some of the injuries and illnesses, like the ones Iwabe, Namida, and Chocho had."

"Doctor Karin," Wasabi graciously thanked, "I can't thank you enough for all the help you gave in treating Namida."

Namida nodded her head. "Miss Karin, I owe you so much! Even back then, during the joint mission of Team 7 and Team 15 at the Land of Rivers, you helped us a ton!"

Karin shook her head. "I only helped the doctors in whatever way I could. But Wasabi was there for you nearly the entire time. Her constant presence and encouragement helped you recover better too, I'm sure of it!" She rummaged through her purse. "By the way, try this on, Sarada!" She pulled out a brown case with a new pair of glasses for Sarada, ones with a more accurate grade and the same red frame.

Sarada put them on and smiled. "Everything's even clearer! Wow!"

"I'm glad you like it! It's yours now, after all! Just tell me when you need new glasses, or when your grade changes, okay?" The redheaded Uzumaki then glanced to Boruto's direction. "I wish Boruto will be okay too… He's been like this for the past couple of weeks, right?"

The three friends followed Karin's eyes and saw Sasuke now sitting beside Boruto, trying to talk to him, but evidently not having much success. "Yeah," Sarada lowered her eyes while eating the last of her grape-flavored yogurt. "I hope so…"

"I'll try to talk to him too." Karin stood up and jogged across the station to Boruto and Sasuke.

After a minute passed, Kakashi and the other senseis motioned for everybody to begin lining up to board the train. Most of the group followed, though Mitsuki chose to keep talking with Team KVEM for the time being, while Sarada, Wasabi, and Namida decided to wait for Yan, since they had ordered yogurt for her. "Wait for me!" And right on cue, Yan ran towards them, caught her breath for a few seconds, and then devoured the entire cup of yogurt so fast that she finished mere seconds after Namida did. "That was nice! Mango and banana and graham crumbs, a lovely combination!"

Afterwards, Sarada took selfies of the four of them posing with their empty yogurt cups in front of them. "I'll send this on our group chat when I have the time and the Wi-Fi," Sarada told them.

The clock read 4:28, and the outbound passengers were trickling into the Rain-ways train. Those homebound to Konoha turned to the two former Amekages who accompanied them. "Thank you Lady Konan and Lady Risha," Kakashi bowed to them, "for being such wonderful and hospitable hosts."

"Thank you Lady Konan and Lady Risha," the younger shinobis and kunoichis added in unison.

"It wasn't any problem at all," Konan replied. "You all are welcome to come back to Ame whenever you like."

"You are all heroes here," Risha smiled. "We owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Just tell us in advance when you're coming back, so we can prepare the tower for your visit, okay?"

With that, they began to board the train. Kakashi, Konohamaru, Hanabi, and Moegi led the way into their designated compartment, followed by Gengania, Panga, and the others who wished for asylum in Konoha, then by Enko, Hako and Tokenagi, Houki, Denki, and Iwabe. Shikadai, Chocho, and Inojin took some last minute photos before boarding, while Mitsuki shared a surprising group hug and corresponding group picture with Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou.

"I guess this is farewell for now," Yan remarked sullenly and frowned. "We've become close friends over the past three weeks too… and I'm glad while it lasted…"

"Goodbye Yan," Sarada embraced her new dear friend, the one person who had been a constant pillar of support and care and joy in what should have been the three worst weeks of her life. "If you ever get the chance to go to Konoha, we can meet up!"

The embrace persisted for longer than either expected, but neither of them wanted to let go yet. "I promise that I'll come visit you when I go to Konoha," Yan vowed. "And yes, that means that I can go to Konoha sooner than later. I just need to ask permission from my mom, and knowing her, she's usually very chill about these things-"

"LAST CALL TO BOARDING!" The PA system of the train blared. "LAST CALL TO BOARDING!"

"Oops, I need to go in!" Sarada and Yan were finally forced to break their long and warm embrace, and Sarada walked through the open door of the train.

"Wait a second!" Yan called out, "What's your address though? Where will I meet you there?"

"Don't worry, I'll send it to you in our online chat!" Sarada was able to respond in time and give her thumbs up before the doors of the blue Rain-ways train closed shut.

* * *

**_How was Chapter 29? If you liked it, please leave kudos, likes, non-troll comments, reviews, follows, subscriptions, and favorites! They all help me grow as an author! =)_**

**_Lots of references and parallels to both Filipino history and to RWBY here! Check if you can spot them all! ;)_**

**_Team KVEM (yes, that's going to be their name, and yes, it's a RWBY reference in itself with regards to the naming using initials and that it's an all-female team), Celica Croa, Beacon Tower/Michishirube, Risha Brunel and Konan Uzumaki and Yahikonan Uzumaki, the eight girls from Iwa, Ayano/Yan Kashiwabara, etc! All of them will play medium to large parts in the later books of this saga! Just you wait to see what I've got planned hahaha huhuhu =D XD_**

**_The next chapter, Chapter 30, is going to be titled, "Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You". It's going to be a tearjerker (I hope), and it will feature Sarada trying to deal with the loss of her best friend, Boruto in a VERY bad place (should I put a trigger warning for this?), and a lot more things are going to happen that will set up the next book, "A Spark of Hope". _**

**_As for Book 2: I'm almost going to work on it (sooner than later? Maybe I can start building up the frames more before the end of 2019/the end of the decade hahaha huhuhu, I feel old at 21 =(). Still, I will also start other projects, like a RWBY fanfic that I've been thinking of for a few months now, a Bloom Into You story that I've been planning for even longer, and a few other works for Boruto and other series that I'll upload soon! =D_**

**_Until next time (I'm really hoping for next Sunday, but I can't make any promises. I'm also hoping before the New Year, but again I can't make that promise yet!)_**


	30. Threads Interweaving, Paths Intertwining

_**Hello everyone! I'M FINALLY BACK! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! XD  
****Sorry for not having uploaded in so long! I'm so late for my update, I know, and I'm truly sorry! **_**_ I've missed you all, my faithful readers, and I've missed this too! =D_**

_**A lot of things happened in January 2020, including going back to school, 2nd semester of my 4th year in college, BS Civil Engineering in University of the Philippines Diliman being absolutely tiring, Mount Taal erupting, light ashfall reaching my place, and the coronavirus spreading to my country (because my president would rather cater to the feelings of his Chinese friends rather than the welfare of his own Filipino people ugh!)**_

_**So yes, I've been really busy and tired, and I've fallen asleep while writing on more than one occasion (like, maybe five times in the previous month?) **_

**_I've also done a minor rewrite of the last few chapters of A Tale of Grace (which is why it will be 32 chapters now XD), as well as a major rewrite of the plot for Book 2 (A Spark of Hope), which will have huge ramifications for the books to come! This was also a big part of the delay, so once again, sorry about that! =(_**

_**But enough of me, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter in my book! ^_^**_

_**Please feel free to leave comments/reviews, likes/faves/kudos/follows to the story! I really love seeing all the comments (at least, the non-troll ones hahaha XD ^_^)  
**__**I love you all! =D**_

* * *

**Chapter 30: Threads Interweaving, Paths Intertwining**

Inside the messy torrent of darkness that was the bedroom shared by Kashin Koji and Delta Archimede, the curtains blocked the light of the rising morning sun from entering, and the only source of light from inside the chamber was that of a digital clock on the wall that read in glowing red numbers and letters, "08:42 AM, August 1, 106."

Koji and Delta lay on the feather-soft king-sized bed, hopelessly tangled in each other's embrace. Their calloused fingers were intertwined, and their naked bodies were enjoying the warmth of the blanket that protected them from the constant cold breeze of the air-conditioner in their quarters. The blonde Kara Inner was still sound asleep, with Koji behind her spooning her and keeping her from all harm. His arms wrapped around her soft sides and met with her hands between her belly and her breasts.

But Kashin Koji wasn't asleep. His eyes were open wide in the dimness of his chamber, and his senses were on edge. He felt Delta's silky smooth skin, reminding him of the hours of sex and love and pleasure and happiness they shared with one another last night, and it soothed him somewhat to know that she was also there to protect him, and fight with him if need be.

Still, he could not convince his mind to go back to sleep, even with Delta right by his side. Not after the nightmare he just had, not after seeing the Six Paths of Pain again, not after feeling the rod impaling him in the chest and the violent blast that sent him to the dark depths of Ame Lake.

A trio of knocks on the door aroused his attention, and he shifted around to look at his wooden door. In doing so, he woke Delta, who grabbed hold of his arm, unwilling to let go. He smiled, gently pulled her closer, and kissed her on the forehead. The blanket fell from her breasts, and the older man gave them several light squeezes, much to Delta's simultaneous pride, joy, and slight embarrassment. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Morning, my love." Delta closed the distance between and pecked Koji on the lips. Another trio of rapping on their door interrupted their tender moment. Sighing, Delta asked, "Amado, what is it?"

Sure enough, the unmistakable voice of Amado answered. "Koji, Delta, are you two getting ready? The conference is starting in about 15 minutes."

It took them several seconds to digest what was said, and only then did Delta turn to their wall clock to confirm. She quickly leapt out of bed and proceeded to gather all of her clothes, which she and Koji had recklessly tossed all around the floor the night before. She also threw Koji's garments onto the bed beside him. As she put on her underwear, she spotted Koji's eyes fixed on her curvy figure. She struck a sassy pose, with one hand on her swayed hip, her eyebrow raised, and her lips curved into a smile. "If you just keep staring at me like this, you old perverted sage, we'll both be late."

The man formerly known as Jiraiya sat up and replied to her in jest, "A sage is never late, Delta Archimede, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

They then spent the next five minutes hastily dressing up and looking presentable before sharing another quick kiss and opening their door. The two of them saw Amado waiting patiently for them in the beige, thickly carpeted corridor. Beside him, Grado was leaning against the wall while munching on his breakfast, a teriyaki bento meal from an eatery two streets away from their new headquarters in Ryutan, the grandiose Mansion-in-the-Moonlight. Previously owned and run by the Kaminarimon Corporation before Kara's takeover of the city, the Mansion-in-the-Moonlight was a lavish and luxurious two-story chateau-hotel within Ryutan's posh Eastern Wood district, whose curved streets and cul-de-sacs were lined with manors, mid-rise hotels, and high-rise apartment buildings.

Koji closed the door behind him, and the four Kara Inners walked the length of the second floor hallway on the south wing, the soft and thick brown rug adjusting to their shoes with every step they took. They soon arrived at the grand central staircase, which from the second floor landing split into two semi-circular branches that both led to the main lounge of the chateau-hotel. The balustrades of the staircase had handrails made of smoothly veneered brown narra wood and yellowish supports of curved metal that burned with a beautiful golden glow. A huge modern chandelier was suspended high above the lobby and the twin staircases, with its thousands of glass prisms refracting and spreading about the brightness of its many LED light bulbs. And on top of all of that, millions of tiny stained glass cubes of vibrant violet, blue, yellow, orange, white, and black hues coated all of the columns and the entirety of the ceiling, such that the ceiling was a striking fresco of a clear starry night, and the columns were the pillars of the world that held the sky above in its place.

As they walked down one side of the circular staircase and passed by the ornate decors of the Mansion-in-the-Moonlight, Delta could not help but let out an exasperated sigh. "This opulence is simply not necessary," she voiced her thoughts. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Jigen's decision to make this manor our base. And I admit that I'm happy we're living in comfort now. But I still feel guilty about indulging in all this extravagance. This truly isn't important in the grand scheme of things. I'd much rather use the wealth and resources we've been gathering to help bring about positive change, to help make people's lives easier."

Kashin Koji nodded in agreement, and so did Grado. "Similar sentiments," he mentioned before stopping in front of several differently colored trash bins, with the other three stopping to wait for him as well. After several seconds of taking his time to segregate his trash, he placed the bento box and the chopsticks he used inside the bin for reusable and wooden trays. "I feel like we could use the things we've captured in Ryutan for something more worthwhile…"

"Well, it was Jigen's wish for this mansion to be our new base, just as it was his decision to name Ryutan as the capital for our new nation." Amado explained while leading the others to the meeting room, the main study room at the north wing of the ground floor. "According to him, it was mainly so we could use the assured supply of resources and lines of connections available here in the area, and the city as a whole, to make all of our present and future operations much easier. The comfort and luxury is merely added benefit to our hard work and effort, he said." Amado then paused and stood before the birch door that led to the main study of the manor. He swung it door open and walked into the large room, with Delta, Koji, and Grado in tow behind him.

"Good morning to you four." Jigen, who was seated at the head of the long marble-topped table, greeted the new arrivals. "You made it with a little time left to spare." Kawaki sat at his left, and they were flanked by other Inners whom Jigen had promoted after the fall of Ryutan to replace those who were killed in the Battle of Konoha.

Amado took his seat at the other end of the table, next to the powered projector that was shining its images onto a large whiteboard on wheels. Grado and Kashin Koji sat at his sides, while Delta sat nearer to the center of the table, beside Koji and opposite one of the new Inners of Kara, a woman who had long brunette hair that flowed all the way down her back, eyes that were dark brown like chocolate, modest curves, and fair unblemished skin. The reasons why Delta thought she looked to be at least in her early forties were the deep circles under her eyes, the slight wrinkles on her forehead, and her face that looked naturally forlorn, as if she had many important regrets in her life that she would ponder on day after day.

"Roll call," Amado began after sitting down. He went through listing his fellow Inners in clockwise order around the table, starting from the opposite end. "Jigen, Kawaki, Delta, Koji-"

"Vandesdelta Archimede," Delta insisted on her full name. "I thought this was a formal proceeding, old man."

Amado chuckled and nodded. "Of course. Sorry, the first two only want their first names to be mentioned." After apologizing, he cleared his voice. "Vandesdelta Archimede, Kashin Koji, Amado Croa…" He pointed to himself while saying his own name. "Grado Garbo, Legretta Desacada, Mocha Watts, and Hei Manegdeg."

"Thus nine of the ten Inners are in attendance. Feremar isn't here, just like usual."

Jigen leaned forward on the black and white marble table. "Amado, you may proceed with your presentation."

"Thank you, Lord Jigen." Amado accessed his slideshow and adjusted the projector slightly. "Two nights ago, the Land of Earth and allied Merikhan volunteers crossed the border into the Northern Region of the Land of Grass. Indeed, this Merikhan regiment happens to be the same regiment we had hired to help capture Ryutan two months ago. Currently, the First Army Group of the Land of Earth is besieging the capital of the Northern Region, the city of Yuu Liberte, just 5 kilometers from the border with the Land of Earth. In response, the First Army of the Shinobi Union is rushing to Yuu Liberte in order to defend the border city. They should make it there today, by nightfall at the latest, since they were stationed only 30 kilometers away at the national capital of Kusa."

Delta side-commented, "It's Unkûr, not Kusa…"

Amado gave an approving nod. "You are correct, Unkûr is the name of the city in the olden tongue. You still speak the old Ainu language of the Land of Grass?"

"I'm quite fluent in it," Delta replied. "Recall that I lived in Menas Unkûr for some years before I joined Kara. I joined the program to help rehabilitate the language and get more people to speak and use it again."

"Oh yes, you did mention that to us before. Still, it's nice to know and remember." Amado continued his assessment, noting, "In any case, the Fifth Great Ninja War will prevent the Shinobi Union from focusing their efforts and resources on us. This will allow us, our outers, and our allies, more degrees of freedom in moving along with our future plans." He switched the presentation on the projector to another slide. This time, a detailed map of the entire continent was flashed onto the whiteboard, with each nation being delineated and major cities and capitals being marked on the map. "After all," Amado pointed out, "our land, our borders, they are far away from the frontlines of the war."

The swathes of territory that Kara had captured in its surprise offensive two months prior were shaded red, with the current borders highlighted in yellow. Included in this reddened region of the map were large portions of the east and south reaches of the Land of Fire, roughly equating to a fourth of the entire country, as well as the entirety of the Land of Waves to the south. To the west, Kara's hold stretched to the easternmost one-third of the Land of Rivers that included its largest cities of Tani and Takumi. To the east, it reached the southern fringes of the Land of Hot Springs and the peninsular region of the Land of Water, and lastly, the Whirlpool Islands off the eastern continental coast.

Amado then spent some time describing the positions of the Kara Outers and other allies, the state of the borders as had been reported to him by those Outers on the field, and the places they now have under their control. Ryutan, located in the southeast part of the Land of Fire and near the center of Kara territory, was marked with a star to indicate it was the capital city of their newly independent state. Other major cities and towns under Kara's control were marked with smaller circles, such as for Tani and Takumi in the Land of Rivers, Saji in the Land of Waves, and Uzushio in the Whirlpool Islands, which had been annexed by the Land of Fire in the previous decade. Amado additionally explained that over the last six years, the old city of Uzushio had been rebuilt from the ground up and revitalized into a bustling hub of modern trade and commerce with the help of several state projects by Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage, to honor his mother Kushina, his Uzumaki clan and heritage, and their original homeland, the Land of Whirlpools.

After the old scientist-shinobi had finished with his comprehensive assessment, Jigen cleared his voice and spoke, his usual calm demeanor in full display. "I have decided on our new teams. I will take my son Kawaki under my wing. Kashin Koji and Delta are to remain together as a team for obvious reasons. Mocha and Hei will pair up as they have on several occasions while they were still Outers. And as per his request, Feremar will be on his own. So Legretta, you will be forming a trio instead with Amado and Grado."

"I'm looking forward to it," Legretta responded, "my Lord Jigen."

As Legretta spoke, Delta kept her eyes on the brunette across the table from her. And the longer she did, the more she felt that she was somehow familiar, and the more Delta wondered to herself, _"Why do I get the feeling that I've seen her before?"_

But her thoughts were interrupted by a shrill giggle coming from the person seated to the right of Kawaki and Jigen, the same person whom Amado addressed as Hei Manegdeg. He was a brown-skinned man whose long black hair was braided into a ponytail and whose golden eyes seemed crazed. "I do have to say, Kawaki," Hei began to laud the youngest of the Inners of Kara, "you were very resourceful in gathering the ingredients. You mixed them perfectly to make high-explosive bombs, and you set them off in a crowded area, next to flammable gas tanks no less. It certainly helped add to the destruction and chaos that followed."

Kawaki replied, "I just followed your instructions. Nothing more."

Hei then proceeded to brag to the table. "Kawaki proves my methods correct. They're as simple as following instructions and training. We don't need grandiose jutsus and fancy ninja skills or advanced technology and computers to take down our enemies. Cheap and simple weapons can do the trick, like a silenced pistol or a hidden dagger. Even normal everyday things can become lethal weapons. Some alcohol in a bottle and a rag gives you a firebomb. Mixing ammonia and bleach together will make chlorine gas."

"How brutish and feeble-minded you are." Mocha Watts, the young woman sitting next to Hei, disputed him. She had slightly tanned skin, long whitish hair, a pretty face, and a very curvy frame, and she wore a navy blue trenchcoat that flowed down to her knees. She argued against her partner, "Modern technology makes it so much easier for us to lead people into turning against each other. After all, as Lord Jigen has told us many times before, our main goal isn't to kill and destroy everything in sight. Rather, our main goal is to cause disorder, or entropy as Lord Jigen puts it. It is to spread panic and sow chaos, to divide and conquer."

Mocha continued, "And as you are all well aware by now, one of my areas of expertise here happens to be spreading disinformation and sowing distrust, through the use of modern technology and especially the Internet. Fake news, anonymous leaks, hacks, computer viruses, wiretapping. I've done it all and more. It is through the erosion of trust that our enemies will fall, one way or another. And while you, Hei, may toil to chip away at the stability of the ninja nations, what I do expedites the process exponentially. What I do leads to maximum effect and minimum work needed to be done."

She then turned to Kawaki with a smirk. "Also, I'd love to get more information regarding your former friends in Konoha, Kawaki. If the opportunity presents itself, I could leak that information and cause parts of Konoha to turn against another one of its own." She chuckled and leaned back against her seat. "It would be just like our birthday gift for Sumire Shigaraki, remember? Until now, my leaking her true identity is still causing some amount of unrest in Konoha and distrust against the Hokage, even if Sumire is already dead."

"I can give you some of their files later," Kawaki responded, although not quite enthusiastically.

"Speaking of the Shigaraki heiress," Jigen sighed. "I am disappointed in the loss of Sumire Shigaraki. I had wanted to test the capabilities of the only known living person who had the Gozu Tennou seal, the anthropogenic attempt at an immature Karma Seal. However, Urashiki has informed me that the Nue, the artificial creature that also has the Gozu Tennou, could still be alive and in hiding. He will search for it in what spare time he has, since he is also very much needed by the other Otsusukis."

"If I may ask," Amado politely inquired, "regarding your experiments, have you successfully given anyone a Karma seal, like what you were able to do with Kawaki?"

Jigen shook his head. "There were a hundred prisoners from the Battle of Ryutan that I used. There were a hundred failed human experiments. They yielded no fruit at all."

Amado hesitantly asked further, "What is the general condition of the test subjects?"

"They're all dead," Jigen bluntly answered. "They died pitifully. This batch was unbelievably weak, unsuitable beyond comprehension for sustainably farming chakra. It was truly disappointing…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

After another half-hour, the meeting ended, and Kashin Koji and Delta brought Amado and Grado along to their private room on the second floor. Once everyone entered and sat on the sofa or the bed, Koji made sure that nobody was nearby and then double locked the door. "So," he said quietly as he sat down on the bed beside Delta, "I assume that everyone here in this room is as disgusted by Jigen's human experiments as I am?"

Amado nodded his head in agreement. "I've witnessed some of his human experiments before. It does leave a sour taste in my mouth."

Delta and Grado raised their hands as well. Grado added as a compliment, "You must be a good actor, Koji. Every time he talks about it, you manage to keep a straight face, as if it doesn't affect you at all."

"I have to keep calm," he replied. "After all, I am using him as a means to an end, to get rid of the current corrupted power structures, like Naruto and the other Kages, and to get the new generation more involved and so make the necessary changes easier."

"We're all waiting for the right time to replace him," Grado concurred. "But we all know, at least for the time being, that the majority of Kara is still loyal to Jigen. We must bide our time."

Delta wondered, "Amado, do you think we can add any more Inners to our faction?"

Amado thought about the question for a while. "I don't know much about Feremar, considering I've only spoken to him a handful of times. But he seems loyal to Jigen, so I'd say no to revealing our plans to him. On the other hand, Mocha is not to be trusted with any information just because of the sheer likelihood that she'll leak it, and Hei is just a fascist psychopath whose loyalty happens to lie with Jigen, so neither of them would make reliable allies for us."

But then he noted, "I think we can potentially bring Legretta Desacada into the fold. She could become a nice additional ally. Unlike the others, she doesn't seem to be heartless, or fanatical, or crazy."

"We should still be cautious," Grado told them. "We should observe her first. She'll become part of our team anyway. Only when we know her well enough should we decide on whether or not she can be trusted. And if we decide she is trustworthy, only then should we bring her into our loop."

"Agreed," Amado replied.

Delta then asked her caretaker, "Who even is she? How did she become an Inner anyway? What makes her special?"

Amado explained, "Legretta is special in that she's one of those rare people who have the ability to use Sound Style. She is a master of what Orochimaru is calling the 'Seventh Fonon'. That alone makes her a valuable asset, and one that Jigen thinks should be kept close to the chest…"

Delta zoned out as an idea began to form in her mind. The nagging feeling that she had seen Legretta before, the somehow familiar brunette hair and brown eyes and white skin, and now the knowledge that she could use the highly uncommon Sound Style. _"No way… Could they be… related?"_

*******XXXXXXX*******

Inside the Hokage's Office, Naruto pushed aside a stack of files he was done with and leaned back on his chair. He sighed to himself in relief, _"Only three more big piles of paperwork left for today, down from the ten I started the day with."_ Deciding to take a short break from his duties as the Hokage, he turned his swivel chair around to face the window, and he gazed at the sunset that was turning the western skies more and more scarlet with each passing minute.

As the afternoon of the sixth of August turned into night, the Seventh Hokage thought of what things he had left on his schedule for the day. He noted that he was expecting Sarada to come by after sunset and stay in his office as his assistant, as she has been doing for the past several days. She had told him in private that she wanted to devote much of her free time to serve Naruto and to learn as much from him as she could, so she would become a worthy Hokage in the future. With Shikamaru still with the First Shinobi Union Army currently stationed in the Land of Grass, he was indeed in need of another voice of reason, another advisor, another perspective that he could trust. And furthermore, he took it upon himself to guide his student and protégé through this tough and trying time, to ensure that she would keep herself occupied. He knew that Sarada was merely holding up a façade of strength, and that surely she must still be reeling inside from the loss of her best friend Sumire.

Luckily for Sarada, Naruto remembered with a slight smile, Kakashi was also going that night, as he was accompanying the eight young ladies, who had switched sides during the Battle of Mount Tirad and defected to Konoha, with their final steps towards residencies and citizenship. _"Perhaps she could learn more from old Kakashi-sensei too,"_ Naruto chuckled.

The sun began to dip below the far-off horizon, and Naruto's mind wandered, his memories bringing him back to last week, July 31, the day when Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, and the rest of the survivors of the battle arrived home to a heroes' welcome. It had also been nearing sunset that day when Kakashi led them back through the gates of the city, to the waiting arms of their families and friends. The families of those who came back were ecstatic, while the families of those who didn't were devastated. Many tears were shed that sunset, whether they were tears of joy or tears of grief.

Naruto welcomed all of the survivors back in person, and he tried his best to console the grieving families. But the moment he saw his son, Naruto stopped everything he was doing, ran towards him, and pulled him into an embrace in his arms. Hinata and Himawari followed him and joined the hug. But Boruto could not return their hug or their warmth, or thank them for being there for him, or even smile at them. Himawari excused herself to check on her boyfriend Inojin, although before she walked away, she made sure to hug Boruto once again and remind him that she loved him dearly.

While Hinata led Boruto back home, Naruto turned and saw Sai and the rest of the Konoha Intelligence unit surrounding the eight ladies from Iwa to arrest them. He heard Sai beginning to recite their rights as prisoners of the Land of Fire, but Kakashi stopped him in his tracks before he could get halfway done. As Naruto approached them to learn more about what exactly was happening, the former Sixth Hokage informed them all of the heroic acts and helpful deeds Gengania and company had done for him and for the other survivors of the battle, and he added that they even fought against their own countrymen because of what they believed in to be right. _"Using what limited authority and influence I still have as Lord Sixth Hokage,"_ Kakashi declared, _"they are to remain free."_

After listening to all that his former sensei said, Naruto looked at the girls for himself, analyzing internally that they didn't look like bad people, nor did they even look like kunoichi or infiltrating spies. Kurama provided some fresh contrarian skepticism at first, but after paying attention to them and how they were interacting with Enko, Houki, Hako and her doll, and with Kakashi, he quickly came to the same conclusion, that they were all sincere and good-hearted people.

Still, to appease the understandable worries of Sai and the intelligence division, Naruto offered the girls a chance to collectively clear their name by having Ino, Sai's wife, scan their memories and thoughts to determine without a shadow of a doubt that their intentions were good. The leader of the group, Gengania, first asked him if it would hurt, and Sai replied that since his wife was skilled with using her jutsu, the procedure would be short and painless, and he further added a promise that no irrelevant private details of theirs would be taken note of or revealed to the general public. The eight ladies agreed without much hesitation afterwards, so the intelligence unit led them to one of their secure facilities in Konoha while Sai briefed Ino about the situation. Naruto remembered assuring Kakashi that once Ino gave him the all-clear, he would speed up their processes to citizenship.

Two knocks on the dark wooden door distracted Naruto from his thoughts and from the sunset that by now was on its last legs, with the sun now gone from view below the horizon and the sky turning from scarlet red to dark violet. Naruto turned his swivel chair back towards his desk and looked to the door of the room. "You can come in."

The door swung open, and Sai walked inside. "Shikamaru sent us updates on the Battle of Yuu Liberte." He gave the Seventh Hokage a printout of the four-page report.

Naruto started to read the important parts aloud. "August 6. The battle is ongoing. We made it in time to prevent Yuu Liberte from completely falling into enemy hands… The Shinobi Union First Army Group halted the advance of the Land of Earth Army into the city. Meanwhile, the Second Army Group is holding position at the fallback lines, in case a retreat is necessary or in case the opportunity presents itself to pincer the enemy forces… Yuu Liberte, both the capital and the largest city in the North Reach Region of the Land of Grass, is a mere 5.2 kilometers from the border with the Land of Earth, which makes it easier for the invading army to resupply… For now, the worst of the fighting is heavily concentrated along a few streets and choke points where the current battle lines are drawn across. If it helps, you can refer to the map I included on pages 2 and 3…"

Naruto moved aside the first page to check, and sure enough, almost the entire second page was a map of the Land of Grass, with the current defensive lines and fallback fortifications marked. He also looked at the third page and saw that it was a map of the city of Yuu Liberte, and on the map were the net gains, losses, and offensives of both armies over the past few days, symbolized by shading, solid and dashed lines, and arrows.

Meanwhile, Sai took the paper and continued reading Shikamaru's report where Naruto left off. "Putting it simply, around 70 percent of the city remains under Union control, while the remaining 30 percent is either controlled by the enemy or is being fought over at this moment… The northwest section of the city, the area controlled by the enemy, is now in ruins… The Shinobi Union Army is trying its hardest to drive the Land of Earth out from the city, but it is slow progress… The Fifth Great Ninja War is well and truly underway. Wish us luck. And I hope that things are more good than bad over at your end. Signed, Shikamaru."

"I'm sure Shikamaru can handle the growing escalation," Naruto said. "He's our best tactician, you know?"

Sai agreed and set aside the first page, and Naruto did the same for the two full-page maps. The latter then saw some more writing on the last sheet of paper, so he skimmed through it. Sai asked, "Is there more?"

Naruto replied whilst reading, "Shikamaru analyzed what Shikadai and the others had told us, including the sworn testimonies from Gengania and her group of friends. He says that the battle plan of the Land of Earth Second Army was unorthodox and brilliant, and that it would have caught every one of us off guard. It should also have ended up with our entire garrison at Mount Tirad captured or killed, had it not been for Sumire's sacrifice. She decimated the Second Army and sent their remnants retreating back to the Land of Earth."

"She truly saved Boruto, Sarada, Inojin, and the rest of the survivors." Sai sighed. "I wish it didn't have to happen that way."

Naruto sadly nodded and then continued to scan Shikamaru's addendum. "Shikamaru is worried though. All things and testimonies considered, he says that there's a disturbing possibility that there may be a traitor or spy lurking deep within Konoha's government that is feeding the enemy information. According to him, a plan like that, trying to cross over the Mile-High Mountain Range and attacking a weak position with an all-out assault using an entire army, while not completely unheard of, is a huge risky gamble that almost requires some degree of inside information."

"Is he sure about the spy? I can have my men investigate further."

"No, he's not. He only asks us to be vigilant, and that all of our important communications, like military operations, be by paper, so they don't leave a virtual trace that can potentially be hacked, and so he can be sure that it will be for our eyes only. As for an investigation, you could have your men dig into it, but please make sure they're very, very, very discreet about it. The last thing we want is to spread a panic about spies that don't actually exist. That will only cause distrust and confusion in our ranks."

"Top secret investigation on potential traitors," Sai took note of Naruto's request. "It will be done, Lord Seventh."

"Now, anything from the intel division that needs my attention?"

"Nothing really. Ino already told you that she scanned the memories of the eight women from Iwa, and found them all to be all-clear of any malicious or treacherous intent, so they'll be coming by later for their citizenship rites."

"Kakashi-sensei will also be accompanying them as the sponsor of their recommendations. In any case, I'll give you the rest of the night off. Sarada will arrive later and take over again as my assistant for the night."

"Are you sure about this, Lord Seventh?"

"Yes. You go home and be with Ino and Inojin, or spend time with Hako and Houki, or mourn the loss of Renga and the substitute sensei Shizuka. Though if you're going to spend time with your family, make sure to thank Inojin for me. You know, for saving Boruto back at Mount Tirad. Sarada only filled me in last night on Inojin's daring rescue, so I only got to relay my thanks just now."

Sai bowed in thanks, but then pointed out, "I think you should be with your son too."

"I can't go home yet, you know that."

"But perhaps you can make an exception, even for tonight?"

Naruto shook his head. "I can't put my family first before my nation… I knew that when I became Hokage." Naruto sighed and looked at Sai with heavy, tired, yet determined eyes. "I became the Seventh Hokage for a reason… to serve our city, Konoha, and our nation, the Land of Fire, and all the people who live within its borders. I can't just abandon my people, especially in a time of war and unrest such as this, and put my own needs and desires first… even if it is my own family that needs me…"

Sai protested further, "I'm sure that Konoha can run for a night without your direct supervision."

"You'd be surprised," Naruto chuckled and pointed to the three tall stacks of paperwork that he had left on the table, and Sai cringed and exhaled loudly. "But don't worry, Hinata is with Boruto back at the house. She's keeping him company, and comforting him when she can."

Sai crossed his arms. "Ino is there for Inojin too, and so is Himawari, who's there with him at my house right now…" He looked out through the window and saw that across the dark violet sky that was slowly fading to black, the stars were becoming brighter and more apparent, even with the light pollution from a big city such as Konoha. The darkening violet sky reminded Sai of Sumire by the mere fact that it was her color and name, and it also reminded Sai of what Ino, Inojin, and Himawari had told him earlier in the day, before he left for work at the Hokage Mansion. "I also heard from the three of them that Boruto isn't looking good…"

"No, he's not… Sarada told me last night that before the evacuation of the Rem Fortress, before the final engagement, Sumire confessed her long-hidden love to Boruto and gave him their first kiss… It turned out to be their last kiss too…"

Sai looked down and sighed, a grim expression on his face. "May I know what happened that night? The evacuation and the battle that coincided with it?"

Naruto recalled everything that Sarada told him over the course of the several nights prior to this one. "The eye of the supertyphoon passed over earlier than anyone could have predicted. Since they weren't ready until the morning, when the eye of the storm was originally predicted to come over them, the evacuation of the Rem Fortress took much longer than it should have. The Earth Army chose that moment to attack, and the walls of the fortress collapsed under heavy bombardment. Sumire and Nue stayed behind to block the pass for as long as they could so they could give everyone, especially the wounded, more time to descend. Boruto and the others came back for her, but couldn't reach to her in time… The enemy general mortally wounded her, and so she chose to sacrifice herself instead. She saved everyone, Boruto and Sarada and Inojin included, and she took most of the enemy army down with her…"

Naruto slammed the table with a clenched fist. "But dammit… As you said earlier, how I wish things would have turned out differently…"

Sai nodded and remarked sadly, "To say this is tragic would be an understatement…"

"What would be even more tragic is if her story would be left untold." Startled, the two men looked to where the feminine voice came from, and they saw the former Lady Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, leaning by the open door. Tsunade entered the room and closed it.

Sai turned to Naruto. "I'll take my leave now. I'll visit Houki and Hako and take them out for dinner. Then I'll go back home, tell Inojin you said thanks, and then have him accompany your daughter back home."

"Thank you so much," Naruto responded, "to you and to your son."

After Sai left the room, Tsunade pulled up a chair, sat on the other side of Naruto's desk, and looked Naruto in the eyes. "We must make her real story known to everyone. It would be a shame if we let her story merely be words unspoken."

"I know… Sarada wants to do the same thing, and so do her former teammates Wasabi and Namida, her sensei Hanabi, and the rest of her friends too."

Tsunade nodded. "The story of Sumire Kakei, while tragic, was also a tale of grace. It began as a dark story of poverty, trauma, betrayal, revenge, and hatred. However, it changed midway because of all her friends, her loved ones, and her real family. And from then on, it became a story of friendship, trust, forgiveness, redemption, and love…" She closed her eyes. "We could tell everyone about this. We spread it far and wide, on all the papers and theatres and the airwaves and online. We begin calling her,_ 'Sumire Kakei, the Valiant, the Heroine of Mount Tirad'. _We ensure her story lives on! We stand to benefit so much from making her a martyr figure-"

There were more knocks on the door, immediately followed by the door opening to reveal a lot of people outside in the hallway. Sarada entered with Sasuke and Sakura behind her, and after them came Kakashi and the eight nervously excited women who were soon to become residents of Konoha and citizens of the Land of Fire: Gengania, Conwi, Panga, Ivyred, Fujibayashi, Mikawa, Tomoka, and Yamada.

"Good evening Lord Seventh," Sarada greeted and hugged Naruto. "I brought along my parents too!"

"I see that," he laughed and patted Sarada on the head. He then turned to his two teammates and grinned. "Sasuke! Sakura! And Kakashi-sensei too!"

"Hey," Sakura giggled, "it's a Team 7 reunion!"

"The old Team 7," Kakashi pointed out. "Your children are part of the new version of Team 7."

"Sir Kakashi," Gengania asked out of curiosity, "this was the team you were in charge of back then?"

The old sensei of the old Team 7 responded to the affirmative. "I've known these three since they were little kids. I trained them, but they were only able to become the people they are now through their persistence, effort, and the choices they made along the way."

Naruto stood up to approach the new arrivals. "I heard that you all have completed your remaining requirements and applications, and that Ino and the others gave the green light for me to grant you citizenship." He chuckled. "And luckily enough, it just so happens that tonight, myself, Kakashi-sensei, and Granny Tsunade are all present to formally make you citizens of the Land of Fire."

"The three living Hokages," Tsunade pointed out. "Oh right, Konohamaru was actually Lord Eighth for half a day. Unfortunately, he's not here tonight, but you all met him during your stay at Mount Tirad."

"On top of what Lord Seventh said," Kakashi added. "You will get two side-by-side apartment units that are joined together by a connecting door, so it's really one giant apartment for the eight of you. It's only a five-minute walk from Konoha Academy, so it won't be hard on you when you resume your college degrees once the new semester comes around. Some of our jonin will lead you there after we're done here."

Before beginning the citizenship rites, Naruto revealed one more important thing. "We will also provide you temporary secret protection. The people in charge of safeguarding you will observe your general movements and surroundings from a distance, but they won't creep inside your apartment or spy on your actions. They will respect your privacy, and they'll only intervene if any of you are in trouble. This is only because we've had several identity leaks recently, and though there are some xenophobic people living in our city, I can assure you that we are doing our very best to limit their spread and influence."

*******XXXXXXX*******

It was a quarter past ten o'clock in the evening when the lights of the Hokage's Office turned off for the night, and when Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Sarada walked out the front door of the fully rebuilt Hokage Mansion on their way home. Sarada gently rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Today was both tiring and fun, and I'm ready for a good night's sleep. But I'm really excited for tomorrow again."

Naruto chuckled and patted Sarada on the head. "You sure are determined, you know?" He then turned to Sakura. "Earlier, you said you were going to tell me about some patients you're handling, right?"

"Ohh yes," Sakura replied, "the last thirty patients of the Kara Assault still under my care. Most of the ones still in the hospital had severe chemical burns from the poison gas canisters. Kabuto Yakushi is one of those victims that the three of us know. The shells made a direct hit on his orphanage, and so around 80 percent of his body was burned or blistered by the mustard gas. Worse, his lungs were badly damaged too…"

The four rounded a street corner near the center of Konoha, two streets to the east of the central marketplace that was now nearing full reopening, back from having been bombed just two months earlier. Sakura continued, "But he's been fighting to get better, and Orochimaru helped out with his snakelike anatomy too. I'll give him one to two more weeks before I can safely discharge him. Still, I'm worried that not all of the gas victims will be able to pay their medical bills."

"I spoke with Ereki Kaminarimon earlier this morning," Naruto revealed. "His company is holding a live fundraiser tonight on their online sites to help pay for the victims of the Kara Assault. All the proceeds they will get during their fundraiser will be given to gas victims and the children who were orphaned because of the attack. They're calling it _'Extra Lives'._ And apparently, Denki will close their show with Shikadai and Ryogi…"

They entered Senju Park, and Sarada was quickly surprised by the fact that there were about 30-40 workers gathering around a grassy space along the paved walkway. It was near the center of the park and a stone's throw away from the lake and the bridge. "What's happening here, Lord Seventh?"

Naruto hesitated to answer, and after a few seconds of thought, he merely answered, "You'll see."

As they approached the commotion, Sarada saw that there were both construction workers and sculptors in the area, and that there was a large white statue, which they were preparing to hoist then lower into place on a short, similarly marble-white, circular pedestal that had already been installed. She couldn't yet see who the statue was because it was blocked by all the workers who were surrounding it, although she figured that it was feminine because of the apparent curves on her chest. "Who is that?"

Before she even got a reply from Naruto or either of her parents, the construction workers parted to let them take a closer look at the marble statue. And Sarada's breath hitched immediately when she saw the unmistakable face of her best friend. "S-Su… Sumi…"

"Yes Sarada…" Naruto patted her on the shoulder and held her close, confirming her thoughts. "This is going to be a memorial for Sumire."

The young Uchiha stared at the twenty-foot marble sculpture of Sumire Kakei that was kept restrained on its side by a lot of wide-strapped cable supports and a crane, to avoid cracking or scratching of the marble surface. The skin of her statue form was only just several tinges whiter than what was in real life. Her open eyes were somewhere in between the expressions of gentle and fierce. The clothes were that of her usual kunoichi attire, which Sarada was so familiar with, but instead of purple, they were off-white. Her right arm was outstretched forwards, with her right hand in the shape of a handgun, and one of her water bullets was seemingly forming at her fingertips. Her left hand was at her chest, and her fingers showed the sign of reconciliation. At her feet, Nue stood proudly in all the glory of its mini form.

The artists who designed her statue even portrayed her weapons accurately, with her long Scout Sniper Rifle slung behind her back on a shoulder strap, the G-18c automatic pistol on her right waist holster, and her elegantly curved chakra saber on her left waist holster.

One of the artists, the one who was holding a large rose-gold plaque on one hand and a printed-out colored photograph of Sumire on Mount Tirad on the other, walked up to them. He showed the adults the plaque, and Sarada was only able to see that it read, _"June 12, 90 CE – July 7, 106 CE"._

While Naruto nodded approvingly for his work, Sakura tilted her head. "What does CE mean?"

"The terms _'After Warring States Period'_ and _'Common Era' _basically mean the same thing," Sasuke explained to his dear wife. "AWSP is used more for historical events that are undeniably tied to ninjas, like our own national history, because the founding of the Land of Fire and Konoha coincides with the end of the Warring States Period. On the other hand, CE was made for worldwide history and natural sciences, and since it is impartial to all countries, it's been gaining popularity in use over the past decade."

The artist asked Naruto, "For the dates of her birth and death, is it okay if I wrote CE instead of AWSP?" The Seventh Hokage responded to the affirmative. "And what else should I write on her plaque?"

"What have you written down already?"

_"__In honor of Sumire Kakei, the heroine of Mount Tirad, one of the thirty-three shinobi, kunoichi, and friends, who fought valiantly during the Battle of the Hod and Feres Passes."_

"Hmm… You know, I'm sure that Sumire would also want to be remembered as a kind and loving friend, a bright mind, a competent kunoichi-scientist, and a simple soul. You could add those too-"

He stopped midsentence and turned to Sarada, who had just fallen to her knees in front of the statue. She had tears running down her cheeks, stifled sobs emanating from her mouth, and her shoulders and tear-soaked hands were trembling.

"Sweetie…" Sakura pulled her daughter into her warm embrace, and Sarada buried her face in her mother's chest.

"Mom… Dad… Lord Seventh…" Sarada struggled to speak in the midst of the flood of emotions pouring out from her.

"You're not alone," Sasuke tried to comfort his daughter. "Don't worry, we all understand what you're feeling."

"Yeah," Naruto squatted in front of Sarada and looked her in the eyes. "We all lost people we loved and cared deeply for-"

"It's not that," Sarada interrupted. "Well… it is part of the issue, but… umm…" She paused slightly, then returned Naruto's gaze. "Sumire gave her life for mine… I want to honor her memory and life and sacrifice, but how? How can I make Sumire proud of me, just in case that somehow, somewhere out there, she's watching over me?"

Naruto gave a reassuring smile, and so did both of her parents. "Sumire will always watch over you," the lone Uzumaki told Sarada. "I'm sure of that, you know?"

"That's right," Sasuke agreed. "Well said."

Sakura added, "No matter what happens, no matter how much you manage to achieve in your life, Sumire will be proud of you. You were one of her best friends, after all…"

Sakura's words reminded Sarada of something that Hanabi had told her and Sumire during their time at the Rem Fortress, and so her mind began to tune out the rest of what her mother was saying. It was a conversation that took place while she, Sumire, and Hanabi were looking after their eight friends from Iwa on the first night of the battle. _"A mother is not ever going to be that hard on her children, no matter how they turn out. Mothers just want their children to be well, and to live a happy life… If you ever become a mom yourself, you'll understand…"_

Sarada was able to put on a smile, her eyes seeming to glitter with both the shine of tears and glimmers of hope. "Thank you," she whispered as she gripped the Hokage and her parents in a tight hug. They helped her back up to her feet. "I feel better now… and the statue is so beautiful… It really looks just like her. I love it!"

However, while Sarada truly and fully meant everything she had said, she intentionally neglected to tell the adults about one of the main thoughts that brought about her tears, as she feared that they could conclude she was slowly spiraling into insanity when she knew full well that she was not. _"I know she is watching me… Even now, I can feel her presence…"_ Sarada closed her eyes for a few seconds and smiled._ "Sumi, I know you are near, standing always by my side… I want you to know that I love you, like you were the sister I never had… Thank you for everything, and I hope you keep looking after me… I'll make you proud, I promise."_

*******XXXXXXX*******

It was well past midnight, if the clock on the bedside table of the Uzumaki master bedroom was to be believed. And under the shelter of the comforter blanket on the bed, Naruto and Hinata huddled together in each other's warmth. Their arms were wrapped around one another, their hot breaths mingling and mixing, their bare and sweaty and wet bodies intertwined and interwoven as one.

"I hope this… refreshes you for tomorrow… my Naruto-kun…"

"I feel much better already… Hinata… I love you so much…"

"I love you so much too…" Hinata adjusted on the bed and leaned her head on Naruto's outstretched arm, as if it were her pillow. Meanwhile, Naruto turned his body to face his beloved wife. His eyes were fixed on hers, while her eyes stared longingly back at his, and so time seemed to flow ever so slowly for the two of them. For minutes, the quiet in the room remained.

Finally, Naruto broke the serene silence. "We've learned a bit more about the mystery allies of Shogun Du Tertae from the girls who switched over to our side."

"The girls? You mean the ones whom you made citizens of Konoha and gave a large apartment unit to earlier? Gengania and Panga and the rest?"

"Yes, them. According to them, they were told that the Merikhan Empire is from across the Western Ocean, and that they have advanced weaponry and huge numbers, enough to have conquered nearly their entire continent far to the west of our own."

"But why are they here? What is their goal in siding with the Du Tertae and the Land of Earth?"

"The girls weren't sure, but Gengania and Fujibayashi had heard of some sort of weapons and commerce and trade deals being struck between them, like they want to profit from the war. Sadly, that's all we have going for us. We don't have any intel on them at all…" Naruto trailed off, and Hinata did not answer as something else far more important to her popped up in her mind.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata gripped her husband's hand. "I'm really worried about Boruto. Since he returned a week ago, he has seldom gone out of his room, and it's super dark inside. He's barely eaten and drank, he hasn't taken a bath at all, and before you came home, I heard him calling for Sumire… I think his situation's gotten worse over time. He might have survivor's guilt, and post-traumatic stress disorder, but it could also be much worse than that too-"

"Shh… Don't worry, Hinata…" Naruto assured her. "Let's talk to him first thing in the morning. And if we can't solve it, I'll get him appointments for therapy sessions with a psychiatrist."

* * *

**_How did you guys like this chapter? Feel free to leave comments and reviews and faves and kudos to the story! =D_**

_**So we started and ended with two very intimate scenes of love (Delta and Kashin Koji to start, and Naruto and Hinata to end), and along with everyone's interactions with others, this chapter truly was about threads interweaving and paths intertwining, both in a physical/literal sense and in a metaphorical sense! ;) ^_^**  
**Also, there's lots of world building (like in the Land of Grass) that will be relevant in Book 2 =D**  
_

**_Anyway, this is actually now the third-to-the-last chapter, since I split the original Chapter 30 (which is what was supposed to be the last chapter) into three to make it a much easier read =D_**

**_And speaking of the next chapter, Chapter 31: "The Reason I Wanted To Die" is going to be (most likely) uploaded this Sunday night! I'm almost done with it anyway! But fair warning, it gets really REALLY dark, and it may be hard to read without feeling hurt and pained inside. The title is self-explanatory.  
_****_On the other hand, the final chapter of this Book 1/7, Chapter 32: "Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You" is not yet near complete, sooo I'll try to upload it when I can. Maybe I can give a further update on it on Sunday? =D_**

**_PS: Question of the chapter, answer in the comments: Who do you think Legretta Desacada is? And why does she seem familiar to Delta? ;)_**

**_Short List of References:  
_****_a) Yuu Liberte = Yu Liberte, a city in Tales of Graces f  
_****_b) Saji = "Surge"  
_****_c) Ainu is an actual indigenous and endangered language from Hokkaido in Japan! And Unkur is a word in that language too! ^_^ (EU4 knowledge FTW XD)  
_****_d) "I know you are near, standing always at my side..." comes from a religious song (Yahweh, I Know You Are Near) that is sung often in my country XD _**


	31. The Reason I Wanted To Die

**_Hello again, my ever-faithful readers! Welcome back to "A Tale of Grace"! I've missed all of you! ^_^_**

**_(Life update inbound!)_**

**_I really apologize for how late I uploaded this next chapter! It was supposed to be mid-February, but then I went on a field trip that weekend, and then the following week I got horrible stomach flu that was complicated by said stomach flu partially paralyzing my gut so that I couldn't poop for an entire week (aka: bad constipation). Then I tried to rush it by late February or early March. I tried what I could to finish it before my hell week (so many exams and requirements...) in Civil Engineering, but I really couldn't without really risking my test grades (And still, I might have failed my first long exam in Structural Engineering anyway huhuhu)_**

**_But then, the coronavirus spread so much in my country just last weekend, so school is officially out for this entire week! However, some Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) professors and some of my fellow CE students are quarantined right now for coronavirus, so I'm worried that a lot of my friends and I are infected without us knowing about it. There are apparently some confirmed cases inside University of the Philippines Diliman already too. Some of my friends who live in dorms and boarding houses inside UPD are pretty much trapped there in their area, either by forced quarantine or by the fear of getting infected. _**

**_I really hope this situation improves, and I'm glad that UPD (probably the Genome Center and National Institute for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology [NIMBB], where I had a class in last semester) was able to make quality and cheap testing kits (only 1500 pesos per kit, if I recall correctly), so the government and Department of Health can use them! I love UP! ^_^  
_****_I hope you are all safe, wherever you may be! Stay safe, sound, and sanitary! Wash hands often, and wear masks when going out, but as much as possible, don't go out unless it's urgent! ^_^_**

**_With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's the penultimate chapter for this book, and the final chapter will be coming out sometime next week! ^_^_**

**_WARNING: Part of this chapter is unbelievably dark and depressing, and some of you might feel uncomfortable reading that specific part (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it), but trust me, you'll get through it. I don't quite believe in trigger warnings, but if ever there were chapters in my entire planned-out series that needed trigger warnings, this would be in the top three for sure..._**

* * *

**Chapter 31: The Reason I Wanted To Die**

The pitter-patter of a light drizzle stirred Boruto in the early morning hours. The sun had not yet risen over Konoha, and the young shinobi opened his eyes to the darkness in his room. To him, his bedroom was nearly as dark as when his eyes were closed, but it was not anywhere close to the blackness of the void that he saw Sumire fall in. It could not compare in any way to the chasm that nowadays appeared in all his dreams and tortured him to no end. And whether those interactions of his with Sumire in that alien realm with the violet skies and the comet-like stars, were only a dream, or his hyperactive imagination, or actually real life, or even another dimension altogether, Boruto could not say even until now, and that uncertainty continued to bother him and eat at his psyche.

For several minutes, each of which seemed to drag on for weeks in Boruto's mind, he stared at the long, slender, bluish pillow he had in the tight clutches of his embrace. With the comforting pillow right in front of him, he could almost imagine her violet hair, her gentle smile, her unique scent, her deep purple eyes, and the warm touch of her smooth skin. Thinking of her and her voice caused more tears to flow down the streams that had formed on his face over the past week of crying. This surprised him, but only because he did not know how it was possible that he had any tears left for him to shed.

Eventually, after what seemed to him to be lifetimes stacked one after the other, Boruto's reddened eyes and dark eyebags turned away from the pillow and towards the phone he had on his bedside. Pressing the home button, he saw the phone light up, and his eyes squinted because of the glare of the phone in the dark room. He then saw on the screen that it was 4:11 am of August 7. _"It's been a month… since…"_ Boruto's own thoughts were cut off when he saw the picture on his phone's lock screen. It was the photograph of their group's reunion at Thunder Burger two months ago, the night of Kara's attack on Konoha, and several days before Sumire's birthday. Sumire was in between Boruto and Sarada, and while her arm wrapped around Boruto's back in the picture, her eyes gazed lovingly back to Boruto in real life. His hands trembling, his breath hitching, his heart and mind ridden with guilt, Boruto dropped his phone onto the bed, and so the room fell into darkness once again.

But Boruto did not try to fall back to sleep, because he was sure there would be no comfort for him there. He knew that only grief and misery and pain were waiting for him in his sleep, like opportunistic vultures circling above their dying prey. Instead, he stood up, paced several laps around his room, and looked outside his window from time to time. It was still rainy and dark outside, with only a handful of covered bulbs lighting the front of the Uzumaki home and the flower-filled garden that Himawari took care of. The latter piqued his interest, since he remembered that last night, in one of the very few times he had left his room in the entire week since his return, Himawari told him that she had planted in her green patch some special flowers for Sumire.

After several long minutes that seemed to drag on for weeks at a time, Boruto at last decided to go out into the front yard, even if it was raining outside. Boruto dragged his feet to his door, his hand sweeping the top of the wooden table that was his study desk. He felt something cold snag onto his hand, and he instinctively put it in one of the pockets of his shorts. But for some reason unknown even to him, he could not identify what he had gotten from his own table, nor could he clearly remember what he had placed there within the past week. The young shinobi left his room, walked downstairs, and opening the front door, made his way through the dimness outside to Himawari's small garden plot, without paying heed to the drizzle of raindrops falling onto him.

Himawari's garden, which was beside the pathway from the main door to the gate, was a small rectangular garden that was demarcated on three sides by a short three-brick-high barrier and by the wall of the house on the far side. The two lamps on the corners of the garden plot lit the area and kept the plants company with their warm yellowish-white glow. Boruto noticed that the sunflowers and lilacs, which her boyfriend Inojin and her aunt Ino gifted to Himawari on her birthday to shower her love on, were thriving on the left hand side. Meanwhile, still growing strong on the right hand side were the lavenders that Himawari planted several months ago as a show of support and encouragement for Wasabi and Namida, since she had read online that lavenders signify true and eternal love between two women. There were many other flowers there, such as red roses, diversely colored bougainvillea, vibrant peonies, and even three rare selenias that were whiter than clouds and glowed resolutely in the darkness. All of these were situated around the edges of the plot.

However, Boruto's attention was drawn to the center of his sister's garden. In the middle of all the flowers, there were sopherias, bright pinkish violet flowers that were blooming and enjoying the slight downpour in the pre-dawn morning. The ground around the sopherias was still slightly raised and disturbed, and this helped Boruto recall that his sister had planted them only the previous afternoon. But that was not all that Boruto saw. At the front of the brilliant violet flowers, there was a laminated sign staked to the ground. Within the shelter of the plastic lamination was Inojin's photo of Himawari and Sumire planting seeds within a small plot inside Nue's dimension during Sumire's birthday last June 12. At the bottom right of the picture, there was a note that read, _"In Loving Memory Of Sumire_". It had Himawari's legible handwriting, and the letters were written using her special calligraphy pen-brush, which Boruto recalled that Inojin gave his sister when they first started going out together around nine months ago.

Boruto took a long look at this photograph, with the help of the light from the lamps and the selenias growing in the front of the garden, and he remembered that the two were planting seeds of the hardy selenia flower, said to be capable of surviving even in places of extreme cold and glow inside even the darkest of caverns. He also recalled Inojin telling him that he and Himawari were planning to plant all of the selenias in Himawari's garden, but decided to set aside a handful of seeds to further beautify the landscape of Nue's dimension, and that the next time they would return, they would plant even more seeds and flowers.

_"But there isn't going to be a next time…"_

That mere thought piled onto all the emotions and regrets he had buried deep within himself over the past month, and it was like the weight of the entire world crushed what little resolve he had left in his weakened mind and his shattered heart.

He was completely overwhelmed with all the guilt he felt, not only for failing to rescue Sumire, but also for Renga freezing to death during the descent, which Boruto thought he had directly caused, along with the deaths of Metal, Udon-sensei, Tsuru, Doshu, Shizuka-sensei, and Nemuru-sensei, and the resulting disbanding of Team 40, Team 25, Team 5, and Team 15. He felt worthless for lacking the strength and abilities to keep his friends alive and safe, to protect the ones he loved and the ones who loved him.

In his tormented, grief-stricken mind, Boruto thought that he failed all the people he had ever loved, all the people who had ever loved him, and either they were now dead or they were suffering immensely because of things he did or failed to do. And he could not forgive himself for it. Every time over the entire past month that he glanced at his own reflection, he saw only the very definition of unforgiveable and irredeemable.

Because of all these, he no longer knew what purpose he had left to live for. He no longer knew why he should go on.

The young Uzumaki looked away from the garden for a few seconds, but wherever he looked around the city that for the most part still lay peacefully asleep in the hour before dawn, the more Boruto was reminded of Sumire, of the breakfasts and lunches and dinners they and their teams ate together, of the joint missions and training sessions their respective teams went on together, of the times they studied and sparred together, of the heart-to-heart conversations they had together, and of all the special moments they shared together as two extremely close friends.

_And how he ultimately failed her in the end. And how all of those memories were now gone with the wind._

Boruto had been drowning in deep agony for a long time now, but with that flow of unwelcome and unwelcoming thoughts, he now felt that he could no longer breathe without his brain mentally forcing his lungs to inhale and exhale. He fell to his knees on the wet muddy ground before his sister's garden. He burst like a collapsing dam and cried his lungs out. It was not in any way a loud shriek or a cursing shout at the heavens above, but a long and continuous cascade of convulsing sobs, pained gasps for breath, and a flood of tears from his nearly-blood-red eyes that were already so dead-tired of crying but could not stop nor do much of anything else.

"Sumire," Boruto, whose eyes were shut, muttered. "I should have been the one to die… You should be alive and well and happy… I want that to happen… more than anything else! I don't deserve this life I still have…"

His two hands gripped his chest, his nails digging into his skin through his shirt that was soaked with both raindrops and teardrops. "You deserved so much more from life… more time, more happiness, more fun, more friends, more memories, more love…" He beat his chest, which was already burning in pain, out of remorse and anger. "If I could just trade my destiny for yours… my life for yours… I'd do it in a heartbeat…"

In a flare of anger, Boruto, still with his eyes closed, punched the soft and muddy ground in front of him, trying to get rid of the bottled up negative emotions inside of himself. However, he felt unexpected softness cushioning his fist's impact, and when he opened his eyes, he saw in the light of the glowing selenias and the lamps that he had actually killed one of Himawari's sopherias. The poor flower lay crushed on the mud, some of its violet petals shorn off, its pollen scattered to the other flowers nearby, and the green stem snapped in three. He now felt even worse for being the reason for the flower's untimely, undeserved death, and it further piled onto his guilty feeling that he was a key reason why Sumire died as well, whether it was directly or indirectly a consequence of his actions or inactions.

"I'm so sorry, Sumire," he repeated again and again like it was his mantra. "I'm so sorry…"

While doing so, his hand brushed against the unknown object in his pocket, and it felt sharp to the touch. He pulled it out from his pocket and discovered that it was his own kunai. Semiconsciously, he gripped the sharp blade of his kunai with his left hand and then pulled it free with his right. Blood oozed from the lacerations on the palm and the fingers of his left hand. But Boruto did not seem to mind the blood or the pain that came with it, because he ever so slowly guided his bloody kunai to his left wrist.

"I'm… sorry… I'm so weak…" He slowly and lightly swiped his blade against the soft skin of his wrist, causing a paper-thin red mark to appear. "I don't deserve any of this…"

He slashed once again. This time, he forced it on his skin slightly harder, and it was enough to break through his skin and draw his blood. He stared at the viscous crimson that slowly streamed down from his wrist and hand to the ground.

"I don't deserve to be alive…" Again, Boruto forcefully pushed the kunai against his own wrist, and he sliced hard for the third time. The gash deepened, and now blood copiously flowed as some of the main wrist veins were breached.

Though his nerves were screaming in pain, though it felt as if both his wrist and hand were set on fire, Boruto still replaced his kunai on the deep gruesome wound on his wrist. "I can't keep… my promise… to you… I want to die…" He dragged the razor-sharp edge through his wound as how someone would rake a plow into the ground. Without warning, dark red blood splattered at his face. He knew the spurting meant that some of his arteries had been struck open, and he indeed felt the blood draining out of his body faster than before.

The initial sensations of pain and fear and panic withered away, with only the discomfort of bleeding out remaining, as well as an unexpected serene calm, as if he had fully accepted his impending death. In his mind, Boruto reflected, _"The reason I want to die… is that I've lost my will and my reason to live…"_

Beginning to feel faint and dizzy, he dropped his kunai and then swayed dangerously forward before catching himself from falling into the garden. Falling to his knees, his vision blurred from both the blood loss and the waves of tears that rushed down his cheeks, and then he saw double, and then triple. _"The reason I cry is that I can't unlearn the tenderness and warmth of another person's touch…"_

He began to black out, and his mind flashed back to its most cherished memories, of moments with his beloved parents, with his sister, with his adopted brother Kawaki, with Hiashi and Hanabi, with Sarada and Mitsuki and Konohamaru, with Shikadai, Inojin, Chocho, Wasabi, Namida, Denki, and the rest of his friends. _"The reason I long to be loved is that my heart has become so hollow and cold and hard…"_

The last thing that stuck with his mind for a long time and gave him some sense of solace was Sumire, but hers was different. To Boruto, it did not seem to be a memory at all, but rather a hallucination or an apparition, as he blinked and suddenly saw Sumire appear in front of him. She was crying and desperately trying to cover his gaping wound. He heard her telling him that she loved him dearly, pleading for him to stay alive, to live on for her, to carry on. But he shook his head, and the blood kept spurting, seeming to phase through Sumire's hand. _"The reason I can't stop thinking about death… is that you smiled so beautifully at me…"_

He began to fall forwards, but somehow, his hallucination of Sumire seemed to catch him. She laid him on his back beside the garden plot to avoid him crushing Himawari's precious flowers. Boruto spent the last of his energy raising his right hand to Sumire's cheek, and he felt its familiar warmth. "I just hope… I can… see you again…"

As the vision of his blurring eyes faded to black, he could have sworn he heard Sumire reply, _"Boruto-kun… You will, in time… I promise…"_

*******XXXXXXX*******

After what seemed like only a few seconds, Boruto opened his eyes again, and he woke up on his soft bed inside his room, with a tiny sliver of the dawn's sunlight flowing in through a gap between his two window curtains. He was more confused than he ever was in his entire life, since it had seemed all so real, and so he wondered if his mind was now playing tricks on him. _"Was that… really all just a dream?"_

To check if he was dreaming everything up, he looked at his left wrist. There was no scar, and there was no pain at all. _"Hmm… so this is reality… it was just a dream…"_

However, his body felt unusually cold, so he checked under the blanket and saw that he had no clothes on, which surprised him since he almost always slept in his pajamas. He shifted around his bed, and his elbow nudged against something soft and warm to his side. He turned around and gasped in surprise as he saw, on the other side of his bed, Sumire lying asleep, her long unbraided purple hair so familiar and dear to him. Her face looked relaxed and even joyous, and she snored quietly and peacefully. Boruto glanced under the blanket only for a second and then respectfully averted his eyes when he discovered that she too was sleeping nude as well, even with the strong temptation to keep his gaze on her. Boruto asked himself, _"What the hell is going on now? This can't be real… Is this just another dream, or maybe a dream within a dream? Is that even possible? Or… am I dead? I don't know what's real and what isn't real anymore…"_

Nevertheless, Boruto was allured by what he saw in front of him, and he carefully snaked his arms around Sumire's stomach so as to not wake her up. He held her bare back, one hand on the small of her back and the other in between her shoulders. It felt real to him, and he gently pulled her closer to him and snuggled his face next to her neck. He smelled her familiar floral scent. He felt her warmth tingle his skin. And he was content with letting the entire day pass on by with her by his side.

But while Boruto was still taking into account everything that he was sensing around him, the woman beside him started to wake up, as she felt more of his warm breath brushing by her neck and his heart beating wildly against her own chest. She slowly opened her violet eyes, blinked several times, grinned and giggled in bliss, and deepened her cuddle with Boruto by pulling herself closer to his warm body. "Good morning Boruto-kun…" She ran her hand through his banana-yellow hair. "My love… my one and only… I sure hope you enjoyed last night…"

Boruto broke their embrace and fixed his gaze at Sumire's face, which was partially covered and obscured by her unbraided hair. Sumire rolled onto Boruto and settled on top of him, dragging the blanket with her. He felt her lay her twin mounds on his chest, her soft and smooth skin rubbing against his own, and he could not bring himself to believe what was happening right in front of him. "This… This is a dream…"

"If this is a dream," Sumire smiled sweetly, "then it is a good dream…" She closed the distance between their lips and gave him a long kiss. Boruto rubbed the back of his fingers up her cheek, but he couldn't help but feel worried that this was not real, that his mind was merely playing another trick on him. It showed crystal clear in his troubled facial expression, and Sumire noticed it quickly. She pulled his head closer to her bosom to try and coax him into relaxing. "Is anything wrong?"

Boruto hesitated, but Sumire encouraged him more. He did not want this moment to be wasted, so he decided not to talk about his failure to save her. Instead, he went with an admission that was both still true and more general a statement. "I don't know anymore… I don't know where to go, what to do with my life, why I'm still here… My way is hidden from me now…"

Sumire whispered into his ear in response, "Boruto-kun, your way? It is already laid before your feet." She leaned in and stopped when the tips of their noses touched. "But you cannot falter. You have to keep pushing on, keep fighting on, keep living on for tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. Don't ever lose hope. Never give up."

"Sumire-"

She gently pushed her fingers against his mouth and stopped him from contradicting her. "If you trust nothing else, trust this." She pointed to his heart. "Trust me. Trust us."

"I will… I promise." He grasped her hand and kissed her once again. But she cut it short and looked into his blue eyes with an inquisitive, if not knowing, look on her face, as if she sensed that something was still eating at Boruto. "Are you sure that's it? Is there anything else bothering you?"

Boruto paused for a second then shook his head, since seeing and being with Sumire already replaced most of the other thoughts inside his head. "Nothing else." He laughed a bit. "I think I had a nightmare, but now I can't even remember what it was… It's like a… What could I call it?"

The answer came to Boruto and Sumire at the exact same moment. "A half-remembered dream?" The two giggled in unison afterwards from coming up with the same answer at the same time, and Boruto was sure that their gleeful laughter would wake everyone else in his house.

"I just want this to last for a lifetime," Boruto wished.

Sumire nodded, but turned away. "I want that to be the case too… but this can't last forever. I have to leave soon…"

"No… don't leave me again-" However, Sumire's hand pressed once more against Boruto's lips, and he was hushed again.

"We'll see each other again, Boruto-kun," she reassured him with a smile. "I promised you, remember?" She alternated between stretching and squeezing his cheeks. "After all, something always brings me back to you. It never takes too long…"

For what seemed to Boruto to last ages, they lay there in silence, side by side on the soft bed, content with each other's company and warmth and love. But as Boruto was starting to fall asleep in Sumire's arms, he heard her clear her voice, inhale deeply, and then speak.

_"Once, like a dream, you looked at me, and everything felt new._ _Time slipped away, the past seemed to fade, my hope restored by you. And I know for some, it's temporary,_ _like a shooting star soon out of view._ _But this will always be, it's my destiny to be in love with you. Some people fall in love for life. Others never get it right._ _Love's fickle when it calls._ _One thing that I know for sure,_ _longer than our lives endure_, _you're my forever fall."_

Sumire's voice began to grow fainter and fainter, farther and farther away from him. Boruto struggled with all of his might to stay awake, but it was as if he was being lulled back to sleep.

_"Your trust and honesty helped me believe. A ray of hope shined through. You set me free, saw what the world couldn't see. I found my joy in you. Every life is filled with passing moments. Like the seasons change, they come and go. But this is infinite; nothing, even death, can separate our souls, cause you're my final goal…"_

*******XXXXXXX*******

"…Some people fall in love for life. Others never get it right. Love's fickle when it calls. One thing that I know for sure, longer than our lives endure, you're my forever fall." Sarada sighed, leaned her head against the wall, and closed Sumire's yellow notebook with her one hand. Her eyes wandered around Boruto's room, and one by one, she saw the concerned faces of Naruto, Hinata, Hanabi, Konohamaru, her parents, Himawari, Inojin, Wasabi, Namida, and Mitsuki, all of whom were worried about Boruto.

Sasuke was talking with Naruto, Hinata, Hiashi, Hanabi, and Konohamaru outside the room in the corridor, near the open door, and Sarada could hear her father talking to Boruto's parents about post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, survivor's guilt, and suicidal ideation, as well as assuring them that what happened was not their fault. Meanwhile, Sakura continued to apply her fabled medical aura on Boruto's left wrist. The green glow of her powerful healing jutsu was closing the wounds and was even removing any scars that would normally be left behind.

On the other hand, her friends sat with her in the area of the floor between Boruto's bed and the mahogany study table, with the lone exception of Wasabi, who was standing beside Boruto's bed with Sakura. The cat-like kunoichi was hanging another clear plastic bag of blood to go with the intravenous drip that had been injected into Boruto's right wrist.

Namida spoke, "I didn't know that Sumire was a good writer. The similes and metaphors she used were so meaningful."

"When Sumire read this aloud to me," Sarada admitted, "I honestly thought it was just about the happiness and love she was feeling that time. It was only after we all got back to Ame that I realized it was so much deeper in meaning, that it was heavier in emotions, in thoughts of life and death."

"It certainly has both its blissful and melancholic sides to it," Wasabi noted. After making sure that both the blood bag and the IV were dripping correctly, she excused herself from Sakura and sat down beside Sarada and Namida, who in turn leaned her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "It… It sounded like she had already accepted what Denki said to us…"

Himawari turned to Sarada and asked, "She wrote this for Boruto, right?" The youngest Uzumaki frowned. "She really loved my big brother…"

"Yes Hima." Sarada wrapped her arm around Himawari's shoulder and pulled her close. "She really did."

Sakura added while in the midst of treating Boruto, "I liked her vocabulary, she spoke from her heart, and she was able to express those feelings of hers to the readers very well. And not just that last one you read… Wait, what was it called again?"

_"You're My Forever Fall,"_ Sarada responded.

"A wonderful title. And as I was saying, it wasn't just that poem that was nice. All seven of the works she wrote there were very, very touching."

Sarada then flashed back to something that her best friend had said. She sighed. "Namida, I just remembered… Sumire wanted you to turn these writings of hers into real songs."

Namida gazed at Sumire's notebook for a few more seconds before agreeing to the task. "One of these days," the brunette songbird replied with a determined smile, "I'll try to give these lyrics the melodies they deserve. Who knows, maybe these songs will become big hits when we release them in the future?"

Meanwhile, Sakura rechecked Boruto's wrist and saw no more traces of wounds or scarring left. She stopped applying her healing jutsu and exhaled in relief. "I think he'll be okay. But Hima dear, are you sure about the time you saw him outside? And what exactly did you see?"

"Yes Aunt Sakura…" Himawari began to recount what had happened a few hours earlier. "I woke up at 4:30 like I usually do nowadays. I looked out my window to check on my flowers, and I saw my brother outside… I thought he was just looking at the new sopherias I told him about yesterday, the ones I'd planted for Sumire… So I took my early morning bath to get ready for the day. Then I put on some clothes to meet him there and tend to my flowers… And that's when I saw… a lot of blood… and my brother… and…"

She trailed off, sighing and staring unblinkingly, as if she were reliving traumatic memories, and so Inojin grew worried. He pulled his girlfriend close and hugged her tight. "Hima, I'm here… I love you… Boruto will be alright, I'm a hundred percent sure of it."

"I'm okay," a pensive Himawari insisted. "Anyway, I dragged Boruto inside right away. I woke up Mom and Dad, and they called you for help."

Sakura replied, "I got the call around 5. Hmm… Did you slow his bleeding in the meantime?"

"Mom did," Himawari answered, although it was apparent to everybody that she was still deep in thought.

Wasabi bit her lip. "We don't know exactly how much time went by between Boruto… trying to… you know, and Himawari finding him. It could have been ten minutes, or twenty, or at the worst-case scenario, it could have been around thirty minutes of him bleeding out."

Namida asked, "How much of a difference does that make?"

"A lot. His wound was very bad, and the arteries and veins in his hand and wrist were sliced open. So the amount of blood he lost depends on how long it took for the wound to be closed."

"If he lost around 20% of his blood volume," Mitsuki explained further to his friends, "his body would enter into a state of shock. Thirty to forty percent would normally lead to traumatic reactions, while fifty percent blood volume loss could be fatal."

"But based on his wounds," Sakura assured them with her quick mental estimations, "he may have lost up to 25 percent of his blood at most, and that's if he was left untreated for a full half-hour. It's still horrible, of course, but it's much more manageable."

"That's good news," Wasabi clasped her hands together. "He shouldn't have any lasting damage or impairment."

Himawari nervously exhaled. "I sure hope that's the case…"

However, something about how Himawari had been reacting bothered Sarada, so she asked Boruto's younger sister, "Hima-chan, I don't mean to press, but are you sure you're not leaving out anything else?"

Himawari's mouth opened, but it took her a few seconds to reply. "I just… I also saw something else… and I don't know how to explain it…"

Namida asked, "What do you mean? What did you see?"

"No, you might think I'm crazy…"

Inojin held her hand and promised her, "We'll listen anyway."

"…Fine," Himawari finally relented, and she breathed deeply before saying, "I… I think I saw Sumire… looking after Boruto…"

Stunned silence followed, and all eyes were on Himawari, who quickly added, "Listen, I'm worried that I might have seen things that aren't real, maybe because of the trauma of seeing my brother like that…"

"No wait," Sakura insisted. "Hima-chan, please tell us everything you remember. Don't leave anything out."

The youngest Uzumaki nodded. "When I went outside, I saw my brother… and something like an orb of light or chakra, I'm not sure what it was. It was like a white hand wrapping around the gash to bandage it, and I think it slowed down the bleeding… I think it even went inside the wound…"

As Himawari continued to describe the apparition she had witnessed, Sarada's mind flashed back to Mount Tirad, to the evacuation of Rem Fortress, to the perilous descent that followed, to Sumire's fateful decision to stay behind, to their attempt to come back for her, and lastly, to the luminous bursts of chakra that flew outwards from Sumire mere moments before the final explosion occurred. It was only then that she thought of the possibility that those flying orbs of Sumire's chakra could be connected to the ghostly light that appeared before Boruto and Himawari hours ago. _"Could it… Could it really be?"_

However, she could not be sure if the two were in any way connected, nor could she come up with any logical explanation as to how or why. "_Maybe I'm just hoping beyond hope…" _She thought to herself. _"Maybe it's just something I desperately want to be true… even if I know there's no chance for it to be true…"_

She looked around and saw Wasabi and Mitsuki eyeing her and each other, as if they too were wondering about the same thing. But none of them spoke about it, even after Himawari finished and after Sakura offered both words of consolation while dismissing what she saw as probably some combination of her lack of sleep, extreme acute stress, and the glow of her hardy selenia flowers, among other possible factors.

For a while, the room fell into an awkward, uneasy calm. It was only broken when Inojin coughed to clear his voice. He then asked his friends, trying to further improve the vibe inside the room, "Do you guys know why Shikadai, Ryogi, Denki, and Iwabe are still deep asleep right now?"

Most of them shook their heads, with the exceptions being Sarada and Himawari, the latter rolling her eyes while in Inojin's embrace. "Ugh, you kept updating me on their game last night," she snorted in amusement.

On the other hand, both Wasabi and Namida inquired, "What happened? What game?"

"The Kaminarimon Company Livestream last night," Sarada answered. "_Extra Lives_, right?"

"Yup, that one." Afterwards, Inojin elaborated to the others, "At Denki's suggestion, they were the final segment of the _Extra Lives _livestream online last night, and the donations the company got during the stream went to the orphans of Kara's attack on Konoha."

"How many people watched them?" Namida asked. "And how much money did they manage to raise?"

"Around 2.3 million people have watched it so far, and I think by the end of the stream last night, they managed to raise 4.12 million ryo."

"Wow! What did they do in their segment?"

"They played one game of Uno together on their laptops. It lasted more than three hours and twenty minutes."

"GEEEEEZ!" Wasabi's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed. "How the hell could a game of Uno drag on for that long?"

"It was the rules package they used: First to 500 points, special rules for 0 and 7 cards in play, and stacking the card-adding wildcards was on. It was so wild that in one round, Shikadai started a chain reaction of add-4 cards that ended up right back at him, since everyone else also had their own add-4 wildcards. So in that one turn, he was forced to add 16 more cards to his own deck!"

The young shinobi and kunoichi burst into a chorus of laughter and groans. "Oh fuck," Wasabi giggled uncontrollably.

Namida added, "Yikes, that hurts just hearing it. He must have lost his mind after that…"

"He did, he really did," Himawari confirmed with a knowing smile, before pulling out her phone. "Hold on, I'll look for the video…"

"Ryogi won in the end," Inojin continued, "and they all ran around Denki's room and cheered that it finally ended."

The laughter in the room reached fever pitch when Himawari showed them the long video, skipping far ahead to the part where Shikadai was breaking down into fits of mad laughter after 16 more cards were added to his then-nine-card deck. The comedic insanity continued over next three minutes of the video, when Shikadai and Ryogi actually called their worried parents, Shikamaru and Temari, in the middle of the video to tell them that they were stuck in the live-streamed game for charity, that it had no end yet in sight, and that they would go home once they could.

"Nghhh… Ughhh…" The noisy room woke Boruto. He opened his eyes and saw blurred figures of familiar people in his room, the rubber tubes on his wrist, and the fluids being dripped into him. He blinked to clear out the blurriness, and he saw no scars on his left wrist. But he realized that this was his reality, that he indeed tried to kill himself, and that his magical morning in Sumire's arms was really just a dream. "What? No, no, no…"

"Oh Boruto," a smiling Sakura greeted him. Boruto's friends noticed he had woken up, and Himawari paused the video. "You're awake-"

"Fuck…" He groaned quietly. "I was… I was happy…"

Sarada rushed to his side. Everyone else in the room followed her. "You're an idiot, Boruto! You could have died!"

"Please Sarada, don't be too hard on him," Himawari pleaded as she, Hinata, and Naruto all clambered onto Boruto's bed and embraced him.

But he did not return their affection. His eyes remained frozen and devoid of any sign of happiness that he was with his family and friends. Instead, he muttered in response to Sarada, "Why do you think I did it?"

Namida put her hand on his uninjured wrist. "This isn't what Sumire would have wanted… You know that…"

He turned to Namida to retort, but no words came out of his open mouth, because he knew she right. "I… I know… I wanted to die anyway."

Shocked gasps echoed around the room from family and friends alike. In a flash of anger, Sarada slapped Boruto then went for another, only for Konohamaru to hold her back. Feeling guilty immediately afterwards, she pulled him into a hug as tightly as a clam holding on to its priceless pearl. Gripping his shirt, she cried, "I already lost Sumire, I can't lose you too…"

Boruto did not react to her slap, because he didn't feel the pain. In fact, he felt numb to everything around him. Whether the sensations were physical, or mental, or emotional, they were all stifled. Boruto even thought that the colors he now saw were noticeably darker in hue, as if the whole world around him had literally become darker than what it used to be.

"I can't… I just can't go on… It hurts… so much… I failed, just when it mattered most. I'm not strong enough to protect the people I love…"

Sarada protested, "No you're not!"

"I'm the reason she's dead."

"Don't say that! You don't even know the full story! You don't know why she chose to stay!"

"I'm the reason why Renga's dead too."

"That's not…" Sarada remembered that after Inojin had rescued him and glided down from the peak in the middle of the fierce snowy rain, Boruto unknowingly took Renga's spot behind the large boulder. Renga moved to another spot to accommodate Boruto, but his new place offered little protection from the freezing cold winds of the supertyphoon high on Mount Tirad, so he froze to death in the hour before their rescue. "It… wasn't directly your fault…"

Boruto continued nonetheless, "I'm the reason why Metal and Udon-sensei are dead-"

"They didn't die because of you," Mitsuki interjected. "They died from unrelated causes during our descent. It was their own mistakes-"

"But you all waited for me in the middle of the storm-"

"Not exactly." Inojin gave his version of the events. "I was there, Boruto. We were waiting in the middle of the storm for the rest of you to come down. Not just you, but also for Sarada, Mitsuki, Wasabi, Namida, Hanabi-sensei, and Sumire…"

"Hold on, that reminds me," Hanabi interrupted. "Why didn't you guys come for us after the explosion?"

The Yamanaka revealed, "When Boruto let go of Chocho to go back for Sumire, we all lost our balance, and Chocho rolled down the mountain and struck some other people before she came to a stop. We had to recover everyone who was hit and make sure they were okay. Some of them were unconscious, so we had to drag them and regroup. By the time we were done with that, the typhoon had come back to bite us in the ass. We didn't know yet what happened at the Sephiroth, so we took shelter from the typhoon while waiting for any of you guys to show up. An hour or so passed, and Shikadai and I were preparing to go back up to the Sheltered Col to see what happened to you, but we bumped into Wasabi and Mitsuki on their way down. Sarada, Hanabi-sensei, and Namida came soon after."

Boruto deadpanned, "I caused that too…"

"Listen… I'm more to blame for Udon-sensei dying than you are," Sarada closed her eyes and pursed her lips as she felt a wave of regret washing over her. "He was angry that the others chose to wait for us. When we met up with them, he lashed out. I screamed back at him."

"I did more of the talking," Hanabi gave her side. "I defended our actions, and good thing Kakashi-sensei prevented anything from escalating too far."

Sarada replied, "But I still feel like I made Udon-sensei so angry that he ended up walking to his death. And he led Metal too…"

But Boruto then asked, "Why am I alive when Sumire and the others died? Did they have to die in my stead?"

He gripped his chest as teardrops began to stain his face and t-shirt anew. "I just… I just don't feel worthy to be here… I'm sorry… Hell, I can't even keep my promise to her… to keep fighting and living… to never lose hope… to never give up… I'm weak…"

"Please Boruto…" Wasabi looked him in the eyes. "It hurts to hear you say these things."

Namida nodded in agreement and further encouraged him. "You're a good person, Boruto. You've always tried your best to keep everyone around you happy. To me, you're a wonderful friend to have."

"That is beyond dispute," Mitsuki affirmed. "You're my sun, after all. How could you be bad?"

Himawari said, "We have our fights from time to time, but that never means that I hate having you as my brother. You mean so much to me, big bro… I don't want you to go away…"

Naruto added, "I may not always be here to say it, but I love you, son. And the only thing I want you to be is happy."

"We all love you so much," Hinata held her son's hand and kissed him on the cheek. "Your sister, your dad, and I are here with you, every step of the way, no matter what you want to do from hereon out. You're not alone. You never will be."

"We're proud of you," Konohamaru commented.

"Truly," Hanabi agreed. "Both Konohamaru and I, and I think I can speak for everyone here, are so proud of how far you've come."

Sarada beamed. "They're right, Boruto. But they're not the only ones who are with you. We're all in this together, up to the very end."

"And…" For a second, Hanabi hesitated with her words, but she pushed through. "Umm… I know that Sumire loved you and cared for you dearly. She was my student, after all. So I'm a hundred percent sure that as long as you're happy, she will be happy too, wherever she is right now…"

"I…" He choked out. "I still feel guilty… for everything…"

"Boruto," Sarada looked him in the eyes. "No one here's blaming you."

Boruto slowly returned her gaze. "… I am."

"That's enough, everyone." All eyes turned to Sasuke, who continued, "As I told Naruto and Hinata a while ago, all your words of encouragement would likely fall on deaf ears. And it's not his fault. Even though you all are right, and even though you all have good intentions, his current mental state simply won't allow him to really accept what you have to say."

"Dad, we can't just give up on Boruto!"

"No Sarada, we're not giving up. But I have something else in mind." Sasuke looked to the side, towards Naruto and Hinata, his facial expression asking for permission. "Trust me on this."

After a few seconds of contemplation, the two relented and gave their approval. "As much as possible, we'd prefer that he stay here, you know, so we can be here for him," Naruto replied. "But since you're sure this will help him more, go ahead with it."

Hinata affirmed, "We only worry because we won't be there by his side all the time, like any parents would, of course."

Sarada was very confused, as were the rest of her friends. "Wait Dad, what exactly are you talking about?"

Sasuke turned to his daughter with a smile. "It's settled then. I'll take Boruto with me on an adventure around the world. That way, I can get him away from Konoha for a while, take his mind off the trauma, lessen the pain he's feeling right now, and help him see the beauty of life again."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea," Himawari commented.

"Yeah," Namida chimed in. "That would help him loads, for sure."

Boruto was hesitant. "I don't know about this…"

Wasabi responded, "Come on Boruto, what do you have to lose?"

Most of the people in the room also started encouraging Boruto to go with Sasuke, and as they began to talk over each other, it soon became a blast of blurry noise in Boruto's ears. He put his hands to his ears and grimaced, and soon his room quieted down once again.

"So," Sarada asked him, "what do you think?"

Boruto took his time in answering, but when he finally did, he told everyone, "Okay... I'll go."

* * *

**_How did you like this chapter? Again, if you liked it, feel free to leave kudos, likes, follows, faves, and reviews! All of that encourages me and helps me to become a better writer! And I love listening to your reviews and replying to them when I can! ^_^_**

**_Now, I'm sorry if that was too much for some people. Again, my stance is that trigger warnings aren't really effective. But I admit, this is top-3 to top-5 of the chapters I have planned that can indeed trigger people. Again, sowwy ='(  
_****_Also, the title of the chapter comes from a Japanese song, some of the lyrics I tweaked and incorporated into the story, especially as Boruto was bleeding out. It's a really good song, so I recommend you listen to it! =D_**

**_On a much lighter note, what do you think is happening? Is the Sumire that Boruto saw really just a hallucination? Did Himawari see things that simply weren't there? Were Sarada, Wasabi, and Mitsuki all thinking of the same thing? If so, were they on the right track? I'll reveal that soon enough hehee (in the next book) ^_^  
_****_Also, UNO exists in this universe (hahaha XD), and the game I described was partly based on real life events (Let's Play UNO and UNO The Movie, both on Achievement Hunters' LetsPlay Channel), except even longer and more chaotic. The Kaminarimon Company livestream (Extra Lives) is also based on Rooster Teeth's EXTRA LIFE livestream for medical supplies to children's hospitals and kids in need! =D_**

**_Chapter 32: "Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You" won't be as dark as this. But there will be drama and chaos... *gasp* Then after Chapter 32... Well, I'll be writing Book 2: "A Spark of Hope" of this AToG-ASoL (A Tale of Grace-A Song of Love) series, and I'll start publishing chapters by the end of this year! Still (hopefully) weekly releases! ^_^  
_****_In the meantime, I hope to upload some related stories of Sumire, and other stories for Boruto at large. I'm also have planned several stories for Yagate Kimi Ni Naru (Bloom Into You) (aka: my favorite series!) and RWBY, and partially-planned drafts for Domestic Girlfriend, Rising of the Shield Hero, and Violet Evergarden! I hope you can read them and like them too =D_**

**_Thank you, I love you all, and I hope you all stay safe and happy =D_**


	32. Torn Apart At The Seams

**_Hello again! Welcome back to the final... well, it was supposed to be the final chapter... of "A Tale of Grace".  
Sorry that I'm late again! I should really stop being too optimistic about my pace in writing hahaha sorry! XD_**

**_Now hold on, let me explain myself. Chapter 32 was actually supposed to be the final chapter of the book, but as often happens with me, ideas pop up and I write more details in it and now I end up with a chapter that might reach above 12000 words. And while I've had no problem with that before (literally, Chapters 24-26 are all twelve-thousanders!), I spotted a perfect opportunity to make a great cliffhanger... ;)_**

**_Another life update though: While I'm thankfully not infected with coronavirus, over the past month, I found out that my hypertension had come back. My resting blood pressure was around 140/95, and it was mainly due to my stress and anxiety (crunching myself to make these self-imposed deadlines I keep promising and failing to meet), and also due to remembering traumatic moments from my Ateneo High School days. Back when I was ostracized and bullied and made into the butt of the joke of the class, back to when I hated my life, back to when I measured 180/120 because I was a ball of rage and fury... *sigh* =(_**

**_(I still hate most of my class, A2016, and I'll never go back to any of their parties or reunions, I swear to anything holy! I'd die before then!) Don't fret though, I've been eating less (as in a healthy less, not starving myself, I hope) and exercising more and writing even more so I don't remember my classmates and memories that make me angry or depressed._**

**_Anyway, I hope you are all still safe and sound and healthy! Practice social distancing and wash your hands! Take care of yourselves, physically and mentally and emotionally, got it? I love you all! ^_^_**

* * *

**Chapter 32: Torn Apart At The Seams**

Warm running water spewed out from the showerhead and flowed down Delta's long blonde hair and slender body. She hummed an old tune while rinsing the soap and shampoo she had just scrubbed and lathered onto herself. As she did so, she remembered the fact that she is what most other people would simply call a cyborg, even though Amado would emphatically deny it. He reasoned time and time again that cyborgs were more robot and artificial intelligence than human, and that they would look and be distinct from normal humans by all the metal and glass sticking out of their bodies.

Instead, Amado would always call her a _biotechnologically supplemented woman_. He came up with the term shortly before Delta underwent her multiple surgeries in her eyes and limbs. Through his expertise in biotechnology, Amado ensured that Delta would still look and feel like a normal human being, and more importantly like her old self, albeit with a few surprises lurking underneath when needed in fights and self-defense, such as her eyes being able to absorb most chakra-based moves, or her limbs being able to morph into weapons.

Delta giggled to herself and mentally thanked Amado once again, just as she had done thousands of times in the past, for not transforming her into a walking pile of metal scrap.

She walked out of her shower, got a towel from the rack to dry herself, and brushed her teeth. After she finished drying her hair, she put on her white nightgown, before opening the door to the bedroom. To her surprise, it wasn't only her Kashin Koji inside.

"Guys? What's up?"

Koji, Amado, Grado, and Legretta all turned around from the table. Legretta smiled and waved hi, while Grado nodded and put his finger to his lips to silently tell her to keep her voice down, and Amado motioned for her to come to them.

Delta asked once again, although quietly this time, "What are you doing here? It's almost midnight." Once she got close enough to the fancy wooden table, she saw that Koji had summoned a dark-colored toad that was smaller than the palm of Delta's hand. Amado was strapping a tiny video camera and audio transmitter, both of which were black as the night, around the amphibian's back.

"This afternoon," Amado explained, "I overheard Jigen telling Kawaki to be with him later tonight. He said there's an important matter regarding their future plans."

"It would do us a lot of good to know what plans are in the works," Grado mused.

Delta agreed. "At the very least, we won't be blindsided by any secrets they might have."

Legretta added, "If this is big, then it's very likely that Urashiki will be there too. After all, he's the one coordinating the major operations of the Kara Outers. I'm sure Jigen would like to keep him informed."

"Correct, Legretta." Amado fastened the video and audio transmitters to the little toad. He then typed on his laptop, and the laptop outputted what the camera and the microphone were picking up. "We're ready."

Koji nodded approvingly as he waved his hands in front of the camera while looking at the screen. "So here, we can see what the toad sees and hear what the toad hears." He looked at his summon. "Matahimik, can you promise you won't get us all caught?"

"I'm the stealthiest toad there ever was and ever will be!" The black toad replied with its squeaky voice as it clambered onto Koji. "I swear on my life, master!"

It took all of Legretta's mental strength to keep calm and to do nothing aside other than stare at Matahimik the toad, as she had the almost irresistible urge to hug it and squish it. _"It's… sooo… cute…"_

Kashin Koji then opened the window without making a noise, and Matahimik leapt from his shoulder and landed on to the window frame. "One floor down," Amado began to tell it where to go, "and-"

"I know. Master already told me."

"Ohh, okay then. Good luck. We're counting on you."

Matahimik, camouflaged against the darkness of the night outside, climbed down from the window to the ledge outside and made his way to the room where Jigen and Kawaki stayed. Meanwhile, Amado took his seat on the table and kept his eyes on the screen of his laptop to make sure everything was still running smoothly, while Kashin Koji, Delta, Grado, and Legretta all stood and waited beside him.

After two minutes of careful and silent navigation, Matahimik arrived at the target windowsill and directed the camera and microphone into the room. The laptop screen blurred for a moment as it was exposed to more light coming from the room, but it normalized just as quickly. The group of five saw from the laptop that Jigen and Kawaki were both seated on their long table, that a purple portal was in the corner of the room, and that Urashiki, who was clad in white garments, had stepped out from it and was sitting down as well.

Amado said, "Legretta, you called it. He is here."

_"I do have to say, Jigen," _they heard Urashiki Otsusuki talk through the microphone, _"you've made quite the home for yourself."_

_"This place is grand by human standards," _Jigen replied_, "but it is not even close to the level of beauty that the Celestial Halls and the Palace of the Gods have."_

_"Of course. Nothing these lesser beings make can ever match the creations of the gods, the creations our fathers and forefathers made. It's pitiful that they would even try."_

Jigen nodded along, but Kawaki protested._ "So I'm a lesser being to you? Just because I'm human?"_

_"Yes,"_ Urashiki bluntly stated,_ "as of now. Your Karma seal may grant you the golden opportunity to achieve becoming an Otsusuki and gaining your immortality, but you are no Otsusuki yet."_

_"Now, back to far more important matters." _He then turned to Jigen, while Kawaki stewed and bit his lip in anger. _"How is the plan for the chakra farm coming along?"_

_"It is going much better than expected. In the chaos and confusion that followed our offensive, I sent several teams of my most trusted Outers to seek and capture the tailed beasts of this planet. We have located most of them, and captured the Two-Tails, the Five-Tails, and the Seven-Tails. More of them will pass into our control soon enough. I will send them off-world to your dimension once you are ready for them."_

_"Good to hear. I've been working for some time with the conceptual mechanisms for sustainable chakra extraction, and then how to funnel and convert that energy into the mass we need. I'm still unsure if any of the current designs, the ones that the others back home suggested, are even capable of handling the amount of energy we need."_

Urashiki shook his head._ "But enough of that. As for my current side project, where is this creature, Nue, which you spoke so highly of?"_

Jigen sighed._ "I do not know where it is, or if it is still alive."_

_"Where is its owner then?"_

_"Sumire Shigaraki? She died over a month ago, at the Battle of Mount Tirad, and that is why I don't know where the Nue is."_

_"How terribly disappointing," _Urashiki commented.

Jigen scoffed._ "And the fools at Konoha are now making a martyr out of her."_

_ "But the fact remains," _Kawaki defended her,_ "that she sacrificed her life for her friends. Not everyone in Konoha showed me anger and hate, father, and she was one of those few people who showed me kindness."_

Jigen looked at his adopted son, and after a few seconds, he nodded and stopped making any more comments about Sumire._ "Still, I'll send some of my people to search the area of Mount Tirad and the Mile-High Mountain Range for any traces or reports of Nue."_

_"Very well. Thank you for your time." _Urashiki promptly stood up and walked back to the portal. _"I'll inform you when my design is complete, and when the construction on the chakra farm will be underway. When I do, send me the tailed beasts you have."_ Before entering the portal and disappearing, he looked back at Jigen. _"And if the Nue is still alive, give it to me as well."_

After Urashiki left, and after Kawaki and Jigen both went to sleep, Kashin Koji commanded Matahimik through their telepathic connection to return. "We should look for Nue," the one formerly known as Jiraiya suggested. "If Jigen brings it up in the next meeting, let's volunteer."

Grado agreed. "If Nue is still alive, we must keep it from falling into the wrong hands, specifically the hands of Urashiki and Jigen."

"I think the five of us should go to make our search for Nue easier," Amado said. "Time and secrecy is of the essence here. And if or when we manage to find Nue, we must keep its continued existence hidden. We have to mask its chakra signature from the senses of Jigen and Urashiki. Let's just tell them that we never found it, that it likely died along with Sumire."

Legretta asked, "But what if it's dead?"

"Highly improbable," Koji responded. "I read the scroll manual of the Gozu Tennou that Tanuki, Sumire's father, gave to me. He claimed that through the Gozu Tennou, the Nue could survive its own self-destruction if it was able to spread its essence, its soul, and its chakra into other vessels. If that's the case, once there is enough of itself in vessels that are in close proximity to each other, it would be able to reconstitute itself."

Legretta's eyes widened somewhat. "That's amazing… But still, that's a big if. What if it is actually dead? What if it wasn't able to split and transfer its soul into other people? What if those people never meet again, or what if they die before that?"

Koji leaned back against the wall. "Then that makes it easier for us. As long as Urashiki won't be able to study the Nue, it's fine by me."

"But remember," Grado pointed out to Legretta, "in this business, you never assume someone or something is dead, at least not without seeing the body to confirm it."

Delta stifled a laugh and put her palm to her face. "That's definitely something only mentioned in fiction, not in real life…"

However, it did give Legretta pause. _"Grado is right," _she thought to herself. _"We can't assume Nue is dead… Just like I can't assume she's dead too… I mustn't lose hope… Ainouta, my beloved daughter…"_

"Legretta? Are you okay?" Interrupted from her thoughts, the brunette looked to see a concerned Delta patting her on the shoulder.

"Yeah," she nodded and responded, "He's right," referring to Grado. "I just remembered something from long ago-"

Grado interrupted, "Your long-lost daughter?"

Legretta was stunned. "How'd you know?"

"Amado and I read your file before you became part of our team, to see if you could be trusted, to see if you'd fit. And then we actually met you. It turns out you're much more than trustworthy. You might just be the best person of our whole bunch, really."

Amado concurred and promised, "Legretta, when we have the spare time and resources, we'll help you look for any leads on Ainouta."

"Thank you…"

At the same time, Delta thought to herself, _"She has a long-lost daughter… Could it really be her? Or maybe I'm overthinking this…"_

"Now," Amado kept the discussion going, "as for the Tailed Beast capture mission, I'm sure we were all caught off-guard there. Now, what can we do about it? Any suggestions?"

"Wait, hold on." Legretta glanced at all of their faces. "None of you knew about it? I'm confused. I thought Jigen would have told you all too, considering you've all been Inners for far longer than me."

Koji stroked his grayish beard and kept his eyes fixed on Legretta. "But you knew? How?"

"Cause I was one of them sent to capture the Tailed Beasts."

The surprise bombshell of a revelation stunned the room into silence. "So that's what you were doing," Grado put together, "before you returned to Ryutan and accepted your promotion to Inner status."

"Yeah. Jigen sent seven of us, one assigned for each free tailed beast. Only four of us came back, and out of us four, the other three gave Jigen the Two, Five, and Seven Tails."

Delta inquired, "Who were you assigned to?"

"Saiken, the Six-Tailed Slug."

"Did you find-"

A muffled, high-pitched voice interrupted Delta. _"Hello there! I heard my name!"_

Legretta reached inside her pocket and then pulled out a large, circular, silver locket. She stared at it for a second before opening it to reveal a larger-than-normal slug, along with some old and faded pictures of herself and of a baby girl. The bluish-white slug waved hi with its six tails.

Amado was dumbfounded. "You had the Six-Tails on you this entire time? Even when Urashiki was just one floor below us!"

"The silver of my locket hides its chakra," Legretta assured them. "And as you noticed, Urashiki didn't come to us. He couldn't sense anything."

"Yeah," Amado huffed and breathed easier. "You're right there."

Delta chuckled and admitted, "You had me worried for a bit. I thought that you became its jinchuriki."

"Ohh no, it simply chose to travel with me when I showed it I meant no harm."

"Mistress Legretta feeds me five times a day," Saiken mentioned. "She takes good care of me!"

"I'll feed you just before I sleep. And thanks for the compliment too, hehehe." The brunette gently closed her locket and put it back in her pocket.

Koji remained perplexed. "Why didn't you give it to Jigen?"

"He told us why they needed the tailed beasts, and I couldn't get a guarantee that they wouldn't be hurt or killed. So instead of handing Saiken over to him, I just told Jigen that all I found were false leads. Meanwhile, I've kept Saiken with me for two weeks now."

"And at the time, you weren't even aware of our faction, our plans, or our goals." Grado pointed out, "See? You really might be the best of us."

*******XXXXXXX*******

It was 5:15 am when Sarada's phone sounded its usual wake-up alarm tune, a song that began softly and calmly, but gradually increased in both volume and tempo. However, before it could get to its more upbeat chorus, Sarada reached out for her phone and tapped the screen. She made sure to disable the alarm rather than leave it on snooze, so it wouldn't bother her again that day.

_"After all,"_ she rued to herself, _"it already interrupted my dreams."_

Right as she said that, she felt a peculiar warmth on her shoulder. She quickly turned around on her bed, but she saw only the darkness of her room. Sighing, Sarada rubbed her eyes with the back of her fingers. "I must be working myself too hard."

"I know you work really hard Sarada, but I don't think you look tired or burnt out right now."

Sarada's eyes grew wide and her heart began to beat as hard as a drum as she recognized the voice. She opened her eyes once again, and even though her glasses were still on the table, she now saw that there was a familiar feminine figure, clothed in purple, right in front of her. She switched on the shaded lamp on the bedside desk, put on her glasses, and then looked back to check once again. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was Sumire who lay beside her, on the other side of her bed, similar to how it was during the last sleepover they had. She was smiling tenderly at Sarada, just as she most always did.

"Good morning, Sarada. Hehee…"

"Sumire…" Unsure whether she was still dreaming or not, Sarada knew one thing: If ever she was actually in a dream, she did not want to wake up just yet.

"Thanks for always being there for me, Sumire," Sarada replied as she played along, just in case it was indeed a dream. "I really can't ever thank you enough."

Sumire shook her head. "You're always there for me too. That's what friends are for, I'm sure. Anyway, what are your plans for today?"

Sarada stopped to think. "Well, the usual. There's studying under Lord Seventh in preparation to become the Lady Ninth Hokage, attending diplomatic and administrative meetings with Lord Seventh, maybe some espionage with Sai-sensei, though that's rare because he's often busy keeping Konoha safe. Now aside from the usual, I'm going to see Dad and Boruto off today."

"They're going on a journey around the continent," Sarada gave her best impression of her father. "Seriously though, I'm going to miss them so much. We don't even know when they'll come back. Mom and I will be living without Dad again, just like it was for years when I was younger. And worse, Boruto won't be there either."

"You won't be alone," Sumire assured her. "There's your mom, Lord Hokage, Mitsuki, Wasabi, Namida, Chocho, and all our other friends to keep you constant company."

"I guess you're right," Sarada conceded. "I also have friends from Ame and Oto that I talk to online. There's Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, Magilou, and Yan. Ohh, did I mention that Yan is coming over here soon? She got permission from her mom to commute to Konoha on her own by train, sleepover, and go back to Oto the next day."

Sumire giggled. "She sounds like your new best friend."

"She really is. She's so kind and understanding and fun to be with. You'll love her too when you meet her!"

"I'm sure I will. I'd love to in the future!"

"It's settled then! When she comes over… and…" It was only then that Sarada remembered what she witnessed back at Mount Tirad. "Sumire… can I ask you something?"

"Of course, ask away."

"Sumi… Did you really appear before Himawari? Did you help save Boruto, just like she said? Did it really happen? Was it real?"

"Hmmm…" Sumire took a few seconds to think. "If that wasn't real," she finally answered Sarada with a smile, "then how can I be here with you right now?"

"But… we saw you die… I saw you disappear in that flash of light… and when I went back to look for you, you weren't there anymore…"

"I still feel the guilt," Sarada continued. "I couldn't convince you to come with us. I couldn't save you. I couldn't protect you. How can I become a good Hokage if I can't take care of the people I love?"

Sumire's smile flattened slightly, but then she pulled her best friend into a tight cuddle. "Shhh… It's okay… Sarada, I told you, remember? You don't need to feel bad about what happened. It's all going to be okay-"

"No," Sarada insisted, her face pressing deeper into purple hair and white skin. "I… I just want you to be here again… as in really here… with me, with Boruto, with your team, and with everyone else…"

"One way or another… I'll always be here for you… and for everyone…"

The two girls stayed in their silent embrace, their shared company speaking all the words of comfort that were needed. Seconds may have come and gone, or maybe entire minutes, yet Sarada paid no heed to the passage of time. Sumire only broke the silence by changing the topic. "How have your dreams been lately?"

Sarada reflected, "Judging by this one, they've been more than great."

Sumire closed the gap between their faces even more, such that Sarada could feel the breeze of Sumire's breath on her face. "Well, what makes you think this is a dream?"

Sarada could not find the words or thoughts to reply with. But suddenly, a knock at her door grabbed her attention. She turned towards the door, and she heard her mother's voice.

"Sarada dear," Sakura reminded, "you should get ready soon. We're going to see your dad and Boruto off in an hour."

"Okay mom! I'll dress up!"

"Love you, darling!"

"I love you too, Mom!"

As she heard her mother's footsteps moving away from her doorstep, Sarada turned back to Sumire. The only problem was that she no longer saw Sumire on the other side of her bed. It was as if she had vanished in front of Sarada's eyes once again.

_"Shit."_ The youngest Uchiha wondered her mind, _"Am I going insane now? Or did I just daydream that entire thing?"_

However, she thought she heard Sumire's voice reply to her thought, though whether she actually heard Sumire's voice or whether she imagined Sumire's voice in her mind, Sarada herself couldn't be sure. _"Don't worry, I'm right here. You will understand in time, I promise. And I swear Sarada, we'll be with each other again, much sooner than you think…"_

*******XXXXXXX*******

"I'll wait here for Boruto and Naruto," Sasuke told his wife and daughter as he stopped on the front porch of the Uzumaki home. "You two can go ahead to the north gate. We'll meet there."

Sarada asked her father, "Are you sure, Dad?"

He nodded. "I know you're probably hungry, so you can eat at the stalls over there." He then sighed and laughed a bit. "Knowing Naruto, he's either still getting ready, or he haven't woken up yet."

"I think Hinata woke him up," Sakura replied. "But if they're going to take a bit long, we can go eat some breakfast. How about you though? Are you not hungry?"

"I'll wait for lunchtime," Sasuke grinned. "Then I'll eat some of the food you packed for me. It smells delicious." Sakura giggled and closed the gap between her and Sasuke, giving him a kiss. Afterwards, The mother and daughter duo made their way through Konoha, which was beginning to bloom and buzz with activity in the early morning.

Once they got to the north gate of Konoha, after twenty minutes of walking and observing the city awakening around them, Sarada began to smell the fresh food cooked by the many roadside stalls. As she and her mother walked through the street, they saw candy, fried fish balls and crab balls, shawarma wrapped in pita bread, okonomiyaki, and steaming hot ramen, among many other delicacies. Sarada recognized some of the stalls, since they used to be in the central marketplace that she and her friends frequently went to. She then remembered that the reconstruction teams were still repairing the area, so the marketplace and all the stalls that come with it could not yet return to service.

After a short while, both of them decided to eat at a stall with a grill and a counter with seats, tables, and a TV at the side. Sakura ordered three sticks of classic pork barbeque, whereas Sarada ordered one skewered squid and two grilled chicken intestines. They then sat on the countertop and watched the TV, which was playing the morning news.

"Good morning everyone," the female broadcaster on the television said. "The date today is August 10 of the year 106 CE… The Land of Fire has been recovering from the losses it suffered during the devastating, large-scale, surprise Kara Offensive that happened over two months ago… Most of the rebuilding projects of Konoha are moving along quickly. Many areas of the city are now clear of wreckage, debris, craters, holes, and other forms of structural damage… There are still pockets of poisonous mustard gas left inside Konoha. Those areas, most of which were heavily damaged in the attacks, are still cordoned off from civilians and construction workers alike. Experts such as Shino Aburame estimate that the gas will be fully dissipated by the end of the week…"

"Here's your food," the waiter delivered their orders. Sakura and Sarada both thanked him, and he bowed in respect before taking down orders from other customers.

The two women began to eat their meals while watching the morning news program. "The majority of the repair and rehabilitation crews have since moved to other districts that still need urgent repairs… the Hokage Rock, the commerce and office districts, the central square marketplace, and some residential areas are all currently being worked on right now." The TV showed videos of the various parts of the reconstruction process, of teams of construction workers filling in the craters and potholes with concrete mixes, of civil and structural engineers testing the stability of the buildings still standing, of architects leading renovations and repairs of damaged skyscrapers and office buildings, of water and environmental engineers assessing the conditions and safeness of Konoha's water supply and green spaces, and even of doctors treating the last dozen or so patients still confined in the Konoha Hospital.

The program even showed ground zero at the marketplace in Central Square, as well as the Chemistry Wing of Konoha Academy, which high school students used for their science experiments. Sarada sighed in sadness when she recalled that those bombings were perpetrated by Kawaki, who had been driven to the edge by the discrimination and attacks he endured at the hands of Konoha's citizens only for having been part of Kara at one point in his life. She knew that while Kawaki's decision was wrong and that his deadly actions were vile, she also knew that there was also much fault with how many people in Konoha reacted. But she could not blame them fully either though, as their irrationality, fear, and even xenophobia was stirred by the likes of the fearmongering Gadon merely for political gain.

Sarada felt a seething rage against Gadon, the very same person who led a mob to kill Sumire, on her birthday no less, after it was revealed online that she was the daughter of Tanuki Shigaraki of the Root. Going back further in her memory, Sarada was also able to recall that Gadon demanded to Naruto that Ryogi, Sarada's friend and Shikadai's adopted brother, be kept in prison indefinitely. He labeled him as a rebel and a terrorist, and thus should never be released. Thankfully, Sarada noted, Naruto did not listen, and he let Ryogi go free after his two-year sentence had ended.

She began to wonder to herself why Naruto didn't put Gadon in prison for that assault on the day of Sumire's birthday party, where he and his men attacked Sumire, Sarada, and everyone else in her apartment at the time. But the answer occurred to her that if Gadon was jailed because it, he could manipulate the facts of the story and say that he was imprisoned for political reasons. Even if his story was completely false, Sasuke and Sai told her that he has some allies in several news outlets that love to give him time on their talk shows and space on their newspapers to spread his opinions. Even if they are controversial, or perhaps it is precisely because they are controversial, those segments and articles of his attract more viewers and more money.

_"Not that a lot of people outside his fanatic base would actually listen to him,"_ Sarada scoffed in her thoughts, "_since an overwhelming majority of people still adore and love Naruto as the Seventh Hokage. But as Sai-sensei told me during our most recent lecture, we're in the middle of a Great Ninja War, and any unrest within The Land of Fire would make the whole situation even messier and difficult to handle._"

"Sarada?" She glanced at her mother, who looked at her with concern. "Sweetie, is anything wrong?"

Sarada nodded and let out everything that she had been thinking about in the past few minutes. She told Sakura about how she still understood and felt empathy for Kawaki due to their friendship, about the suffering that he was put through in Konoha that led him to defect back to Kara, and about Gadon's efforts to screw Ryogi, Kawaki, and Sumire.

When Sarada finished her thoughts, Sakura grunted. "Gadon and whoever else supports him are just power-thirsty loudmouths and violent thugs. They deserve to be in Konoha Prison for what they did to you and Sumire and your friends. But I agree with what Naruto and your father chose to do, and I agree with the reasons why. Imprisoning them might lead to a false image of our nation having a flawed and suppressive system. It could lead to him calling out for justice by violent means, and even though only a few will side with him, now is the worst time for that, or for people to lose faith in Naruto and Konoha and the Land of Fire."

"So the only solution we have is to let them remain free?" Sarada sighed. "It's so unfair. It could make us look weak or indecisive."

"That's what seems to be the best solution, to let them rant and rave. The greatest show of strength a leader can have isn't showing an iron fist in using power, but showing restraint in using it." Sarada nodded along, and Sakura continued, "But at the same time, we also have to properly educate everyone, as many people as we can, about their deceptions, so they won't feel inclined to listen or join him. And that's what Naruto, Sai, and others are doing right now, trying to limit Gadon and his party's influence."

"Just as he promised to Gengania and the others who moved here," Sarada noted. Sakura confirmed that with a smile and a nod, and they went back to eating their grilled breakfasts and watching the news.

"Most of the south is still occupied and controlled by the Kara organization," the female broadcaster kept reporting. "Several days ago, in an international broadcast from the city of Ryutan, one of Kara's top leaders, Kashin Koji, declared that Kara's current territory now forms a new major state on the continent. He named the new republic, 'the Land of Change'. Its political capital is Ryutan, while other major cities include Tani, which they captured from the Land of Rivers, Saji, in the fully occupied Land of Waves, and Uzushio, captured from the Land of Fire's Whirlpool Islands territory."

"The Land of Fire and the Land of Change have since reached a ceasefire, mostly due to the ongoing Fifth Great Ninja War." The television presented videos captured from inside Yuu Liberte, a large city in the Land of Grass that was currently under siege by the Land of Earth. It showed buildings burning and the people trapped inside being rescued from windows by shinobi from the Shinobi Union Army and the Land of Grass contingent. It showed the battle at the frontlines, where both armies were clashing for strategic control of roads, buildings, and of the rooms inside the buildings. And it showed how the frontlines changed on the map of Yuu Liberte over the past three days. There it depicted a back-and-forth between the two forces in the northwest section of the city. The area controlled by the invading Land of Earth army swelled one day, but then ebbed the next day when Shikamaru launched counterattacks, and again made some progress into the city again in the day that followed.

Whilst watching the TV and finishing the last bits of her grilled chicken intestine, Sarada wondered to herself, _"How can I help prevent this in the future? Especially when I become Lady Hokage, when I get the power to change things in the world?"_

Her attention was recaptured by the television when she heard the broadcaster saying, "Later tonight, at primetime, we'll be showing an hour-long special documentary where we delve deeper into the life of Sumire Kakei, whom our Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, and other Konoha and Land of Fire officials are praising as a war heroine…"

All of a sudden, Sarada caught a glimpse of Mitsuki running towards the stall. "Mitsuki!" She called after her teammate and waved at him.

But he ran by.

"Mitsuki?" Sarada left the countertop and rushed after him. "Hey Mitsuki, slow down!" But he still kept running, as if he did not hear his teammate calling after him.

As they neared the north gate, Sarada finally grabbed hold of his blue and white kimono. "Wait," she pleaded while catching her breath. "If you're going to see Boruto off, don't worry! He's not here yet."

Mitsuki was out of breath as well. Sweat was rolling down his forehead, and parts of his kimono were drenched. Sarada asked, "Why are you sweating so much? Did you run all the way here?"

"Yes…"

"You should rest and eat first-"

"Sarada, there's no time for this…"

"Mitsuki," Sarada again asked as she blocked his path and held him in place, "what is going on?"

"Good morning Mitsuki," Sakura greeted.

"Listen, both of you… There's been another leak… Anonymous and online, just like what happened to Sumire…"

Sarada's jaw dropped as she realized what had happened. "Shit! Don't tell me… you were the target?"

Mitsuki nodded. "It revealed my parentage and origin… A lot of added information was false, but the point is… now everyone knows."

"We'll stand by you," Sarada assured him, "just like we stood by Sumire, remember?"

"Lord Seventh is on your side too," Sakura added.

"Doesn't matter. This is different. Once my father finds out that my identity is compromised, and it won't take him long to hear about it, he'll activate the self-destruct seal he placed on my heart and dispose of me."

Sarada was shocked. "But why would he do that?"

"Once people know who I really am, I become a liability to him. My father has made many enemies in his lifetime, and if they know who I am and where I live, they can get to me. If they know who my friends are, they can use them to lure me into a trap, and I don't want to drag any of you into this. They can use me as leverage, or they can dissect me to research father's cells, or they can hold me hostage-"

"Lord Seventh won't let any of this happen!" Sarada looked Mitsuki in the eye. "He won't let any harm come to you! And he surely won't let Orochimaru kill you."

"I don't want to take that chance. If father engages my killswitch, the explosion will obliterate the surrounding area, so no part of me would be retrievable or usable for anyone who wants his cells and DNA. So if you're wrong, a lot of people here could die."

"I'm positively sure about it! Lord Seventh will protect you!" Sarada turned to her mother. "Right mom?"

"I… I don't know what Orochimaru will do," Sakura admitted. "I think it would be best if we rush you to the hospital and surgically remove it."

"It won't work. It's useless to operate on it. Father designed the mechanism such that if it senses people trying to remove it, it will automatically trigger the explosion and kill them along with me."

Sakura stayed silent, while Sarada tried desperately to think of any solution. But Mitsuki continued, "I've resolved to get as far away from Konoha as possible with the time I have left. I don't see any other choice."

"No!" Sarada persisted, "There has to be something! At least wait for the others to get here so we can talk about it!"

Mitsuki shook his head in response. "Again, I don't want any of you to be hurt. And I really don't think there's anything else that can be done."

He then handed Sarada a key. "This is my apartment key. I'll leave it and my belongings to you. Donate the clothes, if you want. Oh and take care of my cat, Mikazuki. He's the white and black cat with the golden collar on his neck. Please, take care of him, okay?"

"Dammit! This can't be happening…"

"Master," the white snake of Mitsuki informed him, "your father just woke up. We have to go now. Time is of the essence."

"I have to run now to make sure I get far away from here, so no one gets hurt."

Mitsuki embraced Sarada, and Sarada, on the verge of tears, returned it. "Please… I don't want you to go…"

"I'm sorry. You're don't have fault for my demise. Relay that to Boruto and the others for me. I won't be able to say goodbye to them myself…"

Sarada hesitantly nodded into Mitsuki's shoulder. After a few more moments, Mitsuki gently pushed her away. "Thank you, Sarada. And you too, Aunt Sakura." He then sprinted off through the north gate and out of Konoha, soon disappearing from the view of Sakura and Sarada.

Sarada felt like her world was caving in on her. Her best friend Sumire was dead, Boruto was leaving, and she was bracing herself for the emotional impact of the latter. But the last thing she expected, not to mention the last thing she needed, was that this would also be the last time she would ever see Mitsuki. It was like her life, along with everyone and everything she loved and cherished, was being torn apart at the seams, and it hurt her and shook her to her core. She struggled to breathe, her hands were balled up, her shoulders were shaking, her eyes were bursting with tears, and her heart was sinking to the depths of despair. Distraught, she asked herself, _"Why… why the fuck is all of this happening?"_

She wanted to release all the emotion building up inside her of, whether it was through crying for the whole day or through smashing the pavement or through punching the high walls of Konoha or setting something aflame with one of her destructive fire-style jutsus. But she could not allow herself, since Boruto would be here soon, and she didn't want Boruto to see her like that. She felt that he didn't have to know, and more importantly for Boruto's own sake, that he shouldn't know about what was going to happen to Mitsuki. She knew full well that he was not anywhere near his right state of mind, as he still blamed himself heavily for Sumire's death and for the fates of their other friends who died that early morning high on the slopes of Tirad. And if Boruto were to find out that Mitsuki, another one of his closest friends, was going to die, and that he could do nothing to prevent it, she knew that his spirit would be broken, perhaps irreparably, and that any glimmer of hope that remained in him would likely be snuffed out.

Thus she resolved to herself, however difficult it would be for her, to not tell Boruto anything about Mitsuki's situation, and to not show any expression or emotion that might point to the fact that there was something terribly wrong happening. It took several minutes for Sarada to overcome the emotion, wipe her eyes, catch her breath, and fully regain her composure, so she could act somewhat normal in front of the others.

"Mom," Sarada finally spoke and looked at Sakura, "I won't relay Mitsuki's message to Boruto. We can't do that to him. The last thing Boruto needs is the thought that he's also responsible for what'll happen to Mitsuki."

Sakura replied to the affirmative. "We'll keep it secret from Boruto."

"Keep what secret from me?"

Sarada felt a brief surge of panic in her chest. She turned and saw Boruto and her father right behind her, both wearing large backpacks filled with clothes, food, water containers, weapons, and money. Naruto, Hinata, and Himawari were also walking towards them. "Aunt Sakura? Sarada?"

Sakura looked nervously at Sarada, who held her composure while trying to find the most appropriate response. And she quickly found it.

"Boruto," she began, and so Boruto looked at her. "Please stop blaming yourself for Sumire's choice. Sumi had her reasons… reasons that you don't know or understand yet…" She felt it was convincing enough because it really wasn't a lie.

"I… I don't know if I can do that yet…"

Sarada kept up her façade. "I know you can. You're you."

"Boruto," Hinata asked, bailing out Sarada and Sakura in the process, "do you have your food for the next week?"

"It's in my bag, don't worry mom."

"And your phone and your power bank is with you? You should call us once in a while… maybe once a week?"

"We'll call whenever we're at a town or city," Sasuke assured Hinata. "We'll check into a hotel with good signal and Internet connection, and we'll call home."

Naruto pat Sasuke on the back. "You're going to Oto first, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "After that, we don't quite know yet. We'll keep you updated on our travel plans."

"Big Bro, Uncle Sasuke," Himawari enthusiastically suggested, "can you send us videos of your travels and your training? I'd love to see where you guys go!"

Boruto gave a weak smile. "As much as we can, Hima."

"Boruto," Sarada hesitantly asked, "do you and Dad really need to go? I mean, we all need to stick together and support each other… now more than ever…"

But Boruto stood firm. "I need to go on this journey. I'll find the strength to protect you and all our friends. I won't ever allow any of the people we love to have their lives taken from them…"

"Boruto…" Sarada finally let the tears that had built up behind her eyes flow. She grabbed Boruto and pulled him towards herself. She hugged him as tight as she ever could, and he did the same. "Promise me," Sarada looked him in the eye. "Please… Promise me that you'll come back! Promise me that we'll see each other again! Promise me that you'll be by my side when I become the Hokage!"

"I promise, Sarada… I swear it."

Shortly afterwards, Boruto and Sasuke were on their way to Oto, with Sarada, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, and Himawari all waving them farewell by the green gates of the north entrance of Konoha.

But just as Boruto and Sasuke rounded the bend in the road, Sai called Naruto on the phone. The phone call was brief, and Sarada and Hinata were close enough to Naruto that they heard what Sai was saying.

"WHAT?" Naruto exclaimed. "Tell him I'll be right there! Set up the video feed too!" With that, he dashed towards the Hokage Mansion, and Sarada ran alongside him as well.

*******XXXXXXX*******

Mitsuki was in the middle of a forest. He was still running farther and farther away from the city of Konoha, even though his muscles were now starting to ache. He was certain that the explosion of his self-destruction program would be deadly to anyone and anything in the immediate vicinity, but what he was unsure of was its radius and reach. His servant snake did not know the answer to that either, so he did not want to take any chances.

"Master…" Mitsuki's servant snake called out to him.

Mitsuki began to slow down, and he stopped by a large dark oak tree. "What is it?"

"Your father's heard about the information leak. He knows that you're compromised. He's working on activating your self-destruction seal."

"How much time do you think I have?"

"Maybe a few… Wait a minute! The Hokage just now started a videoconference with him… He's demanding that he let you live, and that he will handle the fallout from the leak… At the very least, this will stall your father for a while."

"Do you think father will listen to him?"

"Your father is still working on that seal, so… I don't think so."

Nodding grimly, Mitsuki leaned back against the thick brown trunk of the dark oak tree he stopped at. As he sat down on the dewy, mossy green forest floor, he felt a sensation that he had never experienced before. He felt his blood pressure spiking, the adrenaline coursing through his entire body, the hair at the back of his neck standing on end, his muscles tensing, his breathing short and quick, and all of his senses bombarding his brain with information and signals.

He asked himself, _"Is this… is this what they call fear?"_

In the moments that followed, he contemplated on the concept of inevitable death, something that he had never really thought deeply about before. "Is this what Siekei felt in his final moments? Did Sumire feel this way before sacrificing herself for me and everyone else? Is this what Udon-sensei and Metal felt while they were falling to their doom?"

Mitsuki compared his situation to having a bomb strapped to his body with no hope of getting it off, and the bomb did not have a countdown, so it could explode at any time and without any warning. _"I think if it had a countdown,"_ he reasoned in his mind, _"it would actually be more comforting to me… knowing exactly how much time you have left… compared to not knowing and just being alive one moment and gone in the next… But if I can't do anything to prevent it, maybe I shouldn't be like this…"_

_"After all,"_ he concluded,_ "if death is inevitable, why should I worry so much about it?"_

Making an effort to calm himself and prepare for his coming death, he slowed his breathing, and he took in everything that his senses were picking up. He tried to truly experience everything around him, because whatever he saw, heard, smelled, and felt at the moment could be the last things he noticed or thought about in this life.

The seal inside Mitsuki's chest slowly started to stir, and when Mitsuki felt it on his heart, he sighed. He lamented, "I just wish I could have lived out the rest of my life… like a normal human being… with my sun, Boruto… with my moon, Sarada… with my other planets, all my other friends… and be happy with them… to find and to keep my happiness and purpose in life…"

"But what is my purpose in life? That's the same question that Siekei had for himself. Was it to be happy? Is that really all there is to life? And what is happiness anyway? Hmm… perhaps happiness is actually what I've felt all along with my friends…"

His thoughts quickly turned to Siekei. "Siekei… wherever you are… don't you worry. I'll be with you soon, dear friend…" He further noted, "Sumire, I'm sure I'll see you soon enough too…"

*******XXXXXXX*******

As Naruto and Sarada entered the Hokage Mansion, Naruto went straight to his office for the videoconference with Orochimaru, which Sai had already set up. He asked Konohamaru, Moegi, and Hanabi to handle the angry crowd congregating outside the doors. They nodded and went outside. Sarada also volunteered to help her senseis keep control of the crowd, so she split from Naruto and stayed outside.

Sarada stood on the highest step, just before the doors of the Mansion, while the three senseis were all halfway down the stairs, keeping everyone else from passing beyond them.

Sarada scanned the crowd. There were many old people in the crowd, and Sarada hypothesized that they were here against Mitsuki because they still remembered all the things that Orochimaru did to Konoha in the decades before. She also saw Namida's parents near the rear of the crowd, and it made logical sense to her that they would be here. In Wasabi's words, they were _"a pair of old conservative assholes"_. And based on how they reacted to their own daughter, Namida, coming out to them and telling them about her sexuality and her relationship with Wasabi, Sarada had no reason to doubt Wasabi there.

But then she spotted Gadon pushing his way to the front of the crowd, with some people following close behind him. Sarada recognized them as other members of his group, which he called the Fascist Fist or FF, since they too were present when they struck at Sumire's birthday party. She narrowed her eyes in disgust and anger, and she took several steps down to join her senseis in the line.

"Mitsuki, spawn of that devil Orochimaru!" With a megaphone in hand, Gadon led the angry crowd, who cursed the name of Konoha's former foe, into a wild frenzy. "He must be dealt with! Kill him or exile him, we will accept nothing less!"

"Go away Gadon," Sarada countered above the noise of the crowd. "We have no need for you. You contribute nothing good to Konoha!"

Gadon engaged Sarada in a shouting match. "I'd much rather contribute nothing than produce traitors to my own city! Your father, Kawaki, Ryogi, Sumire, and Mitsuki, all traitors to Konoha! And who let them all stay here? None other than your dear Hokage, of course!"

"The last time you mocked my dad," Sarada warned, "he broke your face. So choose your next words carefully."

"Since your father's vicious assault on me, my face has healed nicely. And I heard he left Konoha with your teammate today? How does it feel to know they've abandoned you?"

"The real assault," Sarada pointed out, not taking the bait, "happened when you and your posse showed up uninvited to Sumire's birthday and attacked us. You got what you deserved, you fucker!"

"Wow," Orochimaru chuckled because he wasn't expecting Sarada to curse out an older man like Gadon, even though the man in question more than deserved it, in Konohamaru's eyes. "Go get him Sarada!"

"Well I'm glad your father is gone," Gadon smiled at Sarada as he retaliated with his own barbed words. "And I'll be honest with you, I'm even happier that Sumire Shigaraki is gone too!" Gadon guffawed, his face looking like it would burst out of sadistic happiness.

Both Hanabi and Sarada wanted nothing more than to tear the laughing man to pieces, but they were both held back by Moegi and Konohamaru respectively. Sarada pointed at Gadon and angrily promised, "The next time you mock her, the next time I hear you even say her name in disrespect, your friends will have to scrape you off the pavement!"

"As if you could do that," Gadon dared her, but then quickly turned to Hanabi. "Your brother-in-law is consorting with a known enemy of Konoha, Orochimaru!" The old people in the mob jeered the mention of Orochimaru's name. "How will you people twist the story to defend your Hokage this time?"

"The only people twisting the facts here are you and your followers," Hanabi responded as calmly as she could. "My father would say that those like you who think the world is just black and white, who act in absolutes, are the ones who are absolutely stupid."

"And I would tell him that you're more than stupid to act friendly with the enemies of the Land of Fire! You and anybody else who thinks that is okay must be retarded!"

"Enough!" Angered over his girlfriend being insulted, Konohamaru shoved Gadon away from Hanabi. He warned, "Leave, or else we will arrest you for trespassing. You aren't wanted here."

"I just wish you were dead or jailed for life," Sarada admitted. "I don't ever want to deal with you again, especially when I become Hokage."

Gadon was about to reply to Konohamaru, but when he heard Sarada, he just bellowed in laughter. "You're so easily offended-"

"More like everything about you disgusts me," Sarada corrected.

"No matter. I'm very confident that when you become Hokage, you'll fail too. And when you do, I'll be there to rub it in your face."

Sarada dismissively stared back at him. "You really think you'll be a better Hokage than me? You're just delusional!"

"I'm sure I'll be a better leader than you and your master, your dear Hokage. After all, I'm not a failure like you. Unlike you, I can take care of my friends. And speaking of friends," he taunted her further, "how's your bitch Sumire now?"

True to her word, the moment Sarada heard him mock her late best friend, she snapped. With a terrifying shriek, she lunged at him and tackled him. Both of them tumbled down the grayish stone steps outside the Hokage Mansion, bowling over many other people in the process. When they finally came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, Sarada regained her bearings and wailed on Gadon, raining blows down on him. "SHANAROOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She kept hitting the man she hated most in Konoha, opening up wounds on his face and bruising his chest and giving him a black eye. However, Gadon's followers suddenly surrounded and restrained Sarada, kicking her and throwing rocks at her. All the while, the mob had become even louder and more unruly. All hell began to unravel, and a huge brawl threatened to erupt. Quickly though, Moegi, Konohamaru, and several of the latter's shadow clones were able to push the crowd back to street level.

"Gentle Fist!" Hanabi single-handedly fought off the FF members attacking Sarada, while also somehow managing to keep Sarada from rushing back to Gadon, whose face was now filled with cuts and bruises like a boxer that took a heavy beating.

"Sarada!" Konohamaru left the line of his shadow clones and asked his student, "are you okay? You don't look like have any cuts, actually."

"Yeah, nothing really hurts."

"That's good to hear. And we can't say the same for Gadon, can we?" Sarada and Konohamaru chuckled in unison. "Anyway, we can handle the FF and the rest of this crowd. You go to Lord Seventh and try to help convince Orochimaru to spare Mitsuki, okay? I don't want to lose any more students…"

Sarada nodded. "Got it. But first…" Sarada stood up and showed her middle finger to Gadon and his friends, much to the guffaws and delight of Konohamaru, Moegi, and Hanabi.

Then she sprinted into the Hokage Mansion, up the wooden flight of stairs to the second floor, and to Naruto's office. As she stepped inside the room, Sai greeted her while still keeping the videoconference link up, as Naruto and Orochimaru were still in a tense conversation about Mitsuki.

"Listen," Naruto pleaded to Orochimaru. "I'll handle this. I'll protect Mitsuki. I'll have him under 24-hour surveillance if necessary. Mitsuki won't cause you any trouble. As long as I'm Hokage, you won't have to worry about anyone stealing your research or your son!"

"You won't be Hokage forever," Orochimaru replied. "So after you step down, what happens?"

"Either Konohamaru will become the Eighth Hokage again, or Sarada will become the Ninth Hokage. In both cases, both you and Mitsuki will remain safe. So really, there's no need to kill Mitsuki, you know? That would be an overreaction of epic proportions!"

"Please Lord Orochimaru," Sarada walked into view of the video and begged. "Please spare Mitsuki's life. I'll protect him no matter what! I'm going to become Hokage after all! You can trust me on both of those things!"

"Hello Sarada," Orochimaru greeted with a nod. "I assume you are aware of this situation?"

"Yes. Mitsuki ran from Konoha as soon as he found out his identity was leaked, probably by the same people who leaked Sumire's identity too…"

"So it must be someone from Kara…"

"But please Lord Orochimaru, Lord Hokage is correct. There is no real need to kill Mitsuki! It would indeed be overreacting to issues that we can easily solve anyway. And even though everyone will know who he really is, even though they'll know he's your son, I assure you that most of Konoha will still be on his side because the Lord Hokage will vouch for his innocence."

_"You mean," _Orochimaru raised an eyebrow,_ "just like they were with your friend, Sumire Kakei?"_

Sarada could not immediately answer him, because she remembered how many people were terrified of Sumire after she became publicly known as the Shigaraki heiress. Not everyone treated her badly, and there were quite a lot of encouraging messages Sumire got from people who still believed in her goodness, but in Sarada's mind it seemed that the people who put their full faith in Sumire were outnumbered by those who hated her, those who feared her, and those who didn't give a damn about her.

"Lord Orochimaru," Sarada at last responded, "I know that right now, Mitsuki may be a risk to you. But no matter what happens, Mitsuki should be free to live his own life. We'll do what needs to be done to accommodate your needs too. You have my word, as the future Lady Ninth Hokage."

It was Orochimaru's turn to stay silent for a while. As he visibly pondered, Naruto stood up and patted Sarada on the head. He and Sai left the room to check on how Konohamaru, Moegi, and Hanabi were dealing with Gadon and the Fascist Fist outside, though Naruto promised Sarada that he would be back within a minute.

"Lord Orochimaru," Sarada continued, "please?"

Orochimaru finished his thoughts, and he looked Sarada in the eye. "Apologies, I was just reflecting on how successful Mitsuki has been as my son. He's been a wonderful experiment… no, a wonderful child for me. I've learned a great many things from him, like obtaining one's own will and adapting to circumstances and making genuine bonds of friendship and love."

Sarada exhaled in relief. "I'm glad you think of it that way. Again, I promise we will protect him at all costs."

"You care so much for Mitsuki, so I expect you to keep your word." Orochimaru smiled and ended the video call.

But after he did, he thought to himself, _"I will also learn from all the missteps I made in this experiment… when I make another."_

He activated the self-destruct seal on Mitsuki's heart.

* * *

_**If you liked this chapter, leave likes/kudos and comments and reviews! Hehehehehe =D  
**__**What did you like about the chapter? Any memorable quotes? (you can comment down below!) And try to predict what will happen in the last chapter! ;)**_

_**In short, this has actually has become the true penultimate chapter of my book, though the one that will follow, Chapter 33: Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You) will be a "short" (if you consider ~3000 words short) epilogue of sorts! ^_^  
**__**I'm also beginning to write Book 2: A Spark of Hope, just for your information hehee ^_^**_

_**Anyway, see you in the next chapter! The final chapter of this first book! YEHEY! =D**_

_**Love you all! =D**_


	33. Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You

_***HELLO EVERYONE! WELCOME TO THE FINAL CHAPTER OF A TALE OF GRACE! AND IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! WOOOOOHOOOOO =D**_

_**That being said, we're stuck in quarantine, so there's no party tonight. Instead, I'll spend most of today talking with friends and working on the book's sequel! More on that later! =D**_

_**Anyway, enjoy the final chapter! I love you all! ^_^**_

_**PS: Stay safe and hygienic over there, okey? Social distancing! Wash hands! Listen to credible sources like doctors and scientists! And don't listen to clueless leaders [like Trump when he says that viruses are brilliant because they've figured out how to beat... antibiotics... which were made for bacteria... and not viruses (those are antivirals)...] *sigh* scary times :/ XD**_

* * *

**Chapter 33: Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You**

Suddenly, Mitsuki heard the seal in his chest finally click. He instantly knelt forward and prostrated himself on the forest floor, holding his breath and bracing for the blast in such a way that he would negate as much as possible the destruction to the serene environment around him.

Unexpectedly, silence continued to reign in the woods. There was no explosion yet. Mitsuki considered the possibility of his seal having a delayed reaction, so he kept his eyes closed and stayed in his rigid brace position.

But the seconds and the minutes ticked by, and still nothing.

Around fifteen minutes passed before Mitsuki toppled over to his side. He was exhausted from keeping his rigid brace position and holding his breath as much as he could, such that he only breathed about once every minute. Even with his guard down and his fatigue affecting him, there was still no detonation. "Could it be… that it didn't work?"

Perplexed, Mitsuki spread apart the folds of his kimono, revealing his bare chest. He took his thumb and sharpened its nail to a cutting edge. And afterwards, he took deep breaths, grit his teeth, and then carefully sliced through the skin and muscle of his own chest, making sure not to cut too deep and tear a hole in his heart, his main blood vessels, or his lungs.

"Well… that wasn't as painful as I expected it to be… Probably because of all the adrenaline I have right now. And at least this will completely heal on its own…"

He folded aside the skin beside the tear he had made and strained his neck to look down and see inside his chest cavity. He saw his still-beating heart and the self-destruct mark at its front, along with an accumulation of abnormal-looking chakra at the site of the seal.

Focusing on the seal, he examined it and found that it had triggered as his father intended it to, but the unknown chakra somehow stopped it from exploding. Investigating it further with his vassal snake, they discovered that the foreign chakra was destructively interfering with the trigger signal of Mitsuki's curse seal and cancelling out its frequency entirely. Because of this, the curse seal's receptor could not detect the activation signal necessary for self-destruction to occur, thus rendering the seal nonfunctional.

Mitsuki was stunned, and upon realizing that the seal was broken, that he wasn't going to die, and that he was free from the danger of his oppressive parent, he finally relaxed, crying tears of joy and relief. "Siekei… it looks like we won't see each other again just yet…"

Eventually wiping his tears, Mitsuki now turned his attention to the mysterious chakra. He quickly came to the realization that it wasn't his own chakra as it was distinct from his own. He was amazed by the foreign chakra, since he never even knew it was inside of him until just a few minutes ago. It had a fundamentally different chakra signature from his, and it was a shade of violet that was close to black. He didn't recognize it at first, but the longer he thought about it, the more he noted that it was familiar.

"It's like I've felt it before," he analyzed, "like I've seen it before… This dark… chakra…" The moment those words left his mouth, it all made sense to him, and he was certain he knew whose chakra it was inside of him. He remembered the final engagement at Mount Tirad, the shining orbs of light and dark chakra flying towards him and his friends, and the subtle chill he felt from its gentle contact with his face.

And as a breeze of cold forest air blew by him, he heard her familiar voice. _"You're free… from this yoke on your neck, Mitsuki… Live a new life… Your own life… This life is yours, and yours alone…"_

The tears came back to his eyes and quickly flowed down his cheeks once again. He quickly sowed up his chest wound and sealed it while thanking his fallen friend in spirit. "Sumire… Even in death, you still manage to help us… Just like you're free from your father, I'm free from mine too… Thank you so much. I won't forget you and what you did for me… I promise you, I'll take care of this part of you inside me, and I won't take this gift of yours lightly…"

While waiting for his long chest scar to fully disappear, Mitsuki rested and pondered with his snake on what he should do now. "I don't know if I should go back to Konoha," Mitsuki said. "If I do, people like Gadon will try to kill me, just like they tried with Sumire and Kawaki. And I might also become a big target for people who want father's DNA and cloning technology."

"Yes, I think returning to Konoha would be a mistake," the snake concurred with him. "And even if the Lord Hokage were to protect you from them, once you return to Konoha, your father will find out about your miraculous survival, whether through the news or through one of he spies in Konoha or through the Hokage himself informing him about it."

"If father finds out I'm still alive, I think he'll try even harder to follow through with killing me, even if he has to fight Lord Hokage and all my friends to do it. And I don't want them to suffer for my sake…"

"So if not Konoha," the snake helped him along, "perhaps Ame? You do recall Kirakira's suggestion, correct?"

Mitsuki nodded. It was the last thing that he, Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, and Magilou were talking about at the Ame Metro Station, before the five of them took their group picture, and before he boarded the train on the way back to Konoha. Kirakira told Mitsuki that he was welcome to come visit and stay at her home anytime, and that she would invite the rest of her team over so they could hang out. Mitsuki thanked her and promised to keep her offer in mind, especially when he and his friends would return to Ame.

"I don't think your father has any spies in the Land of Rain," Mitsuki's snake counseled. "It isn't an important enough place for him to constantly keep track of. So you could keep a low profile there for the time being."

Mitsuki made his decision, looked through the gaps between the leaves of the trees at the sun in the azure sky, and turned to where he figured was the southwest, the direction towards the Land of Rain. "I'll take Kirakira and her friends up on their offer."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Sarada gazed out the window in silence, her eyes catching sight of birds that flew over the city, clouds floating far and above her, people walking along the streets, and leaves blowing in the wind. And though she tried her best not to show it, her face gave away the melancholy and turmoil and hopelessness she felt inside. _"It's been four days, and he still hasn't come back…"_

"Sarada," Naruto turned his swivel chair towards her, "do you want to take a break? You always work so hard, so feel free to eat and rest first."

"I… I'm not in the mood to eat… And when I rest, I begin to think about things that make me sad… So I bury myself in things to do…"

Naruto stood up and pulled Sarada towards his chest, caressing her hair and rubbing her shoulder. "I don't want you to be burnt out though… So tell me, what are you thinking about? And tell me the truth, you know?"

Sarada replied, "I'm wondering if Mitsuki was actually killed…"

"Orochimaru won't kill his own son," Naruto assured her. "He promised you he wouldn't harm Mitsuki, right?"

"We agreed on it, yeah…"

"Then I'll keep my faith in him, that Mitsuki is still alive."

"But if he did kill Mitsuki," Sarada asked, "what would you do?"

"I…" Separating from Sarada and scratching his head, Naruto tried to think, but after a few seconds, he admitted, "I don't really know. Orochimaru is a valued asset and ally to the Land of Fire and the Shinobi Union as a whole. He contributes so much: His science, his research, and his collaborations with others, even with some of your friends like Denki and Namida. He's helping push the boundaries of science and ninjutsu. There's also the monthly payments Oto makes to the Shinobi Union and the manpower from the Land of Sound he gives to the Shinobi Union Army, which is so important to the war effort now. Sure, I can reprimand him or show my displeasure behind the scenes, but I can't really take any concrete action against him."

"I know that…" Sarada sighed, her head looking down at the floor. "Being the Hokage is so complicated and hard…"

Naruto smiled warmly. "Being a leader is like that, but I'm sure you'll get used to it! You learn and adapt so quickly. You're kind and empathetic and understanding, so I have no doubts that you'll be a good Hokage. And I also have no doubts that Mitsuki is fine," Naruto segued with a bit of a chuckle. "Believe me!"

Sarada's face became more relaxed, and she laughed along. The Seventh Hokage then sat down on his chair, while Sarada pulled up a chair and sat at his side. As she did, her stomach growled for a second or two, the result of her forgetting to eat both breakfast and lunch. Upon hearing it, Naruto handed her some cookies that Hinata and Himawari had baked for him. "Thank you," Sarada said before munching on them.

The door opened, and Sai walked in with a cup of coffee in hand. "No news or sightings yet on Mitsuki," he noted. "But more importantly, there are some visitors who would like to see you."

"Hello Lord Seventh!" Mirai greeted while pulling Tatsumi along into the room.

"Good afternoon, Mirai," Naruto waved. "And you too, Tatsumi. How have you been up to lately?"

"We've been helping with the reconstruction," Tatsumi replied. "We repaired homes and roads in our neighborhood."

"Thank you so much for your efforts! Konoha has been recovering so fast thanks to people like you. Anyway, what brings you two here?"

Mirai cleared her voice. "I'd like to volunteer to be Shikamaru's adjutant. It would be an honor if I could study under him and help administer the soldiers and see the war effort for myself. I think it would help me become a good commander in the future."

"I would like to go with Mirai as well," the pale-skinned blonde woman respectfully bowed her head while talking to Naruto. "It's not just because we're together. I… I could help with the medical or cooking or cleanup crews, whichever one I'm needed more at."

Naruto responded to them, "Well now, I'm sure that Shikamaru will welcome both of you to his camp. Are you sure about this? And have you talked to Kurenai about this?"

Mirai and Tatsumi nodded in unison. Mirai asked, "Can you give us a few days to get everything back at home sorted out? We might need to hire full-time helpers and give them some rooms in the house, so Mom doesn't have to take care of the whole house and our pets all by herself."

"Of course, there's no real rush. Just tell me when you two are ready to leave, and I'll have escorts prepared." Naruto then turned to Sai. "Please inform Shikamaru that I'm sending Mirai and Tatsumi to him…"

Meanwhile, Sarada felt her phone shaking in her pocket, so she pulled it out and read a notification that Kirakira had sent her a message. She opened her phone and read her message. _"Hey Sarada! You ready for a video call? Or are you busy right now?"_

Sarada chuckled and typed her reply. _"There's nothing important going on right now, so go for it!"_

Within a few seconds, Sarada's phone vibrated again. Sarada put on her earphones, connected them to the phone, and then stood up and walked to the window. Only then did she swipe to accept the call. Upon doing so, he saw Kirakira, her arm up and outstretched while holding the phone so Sarada could see everyone else in the room. Magilou was lying down with what looked to be a mischievous smile, while Eleanor and Velvet were both waving while leaning against the headrest of the bed. Sarada knew was Kirakira's house, since the color schemes and patterns on the walls matched how Shikadai had described them.

_"Sarada!" _The four girls greeted simultaneously._ "Nice seeing you again!"_

"Hi everyone!" Though giddy, Sarada kept her voice down so she would not disturb the ongoing conversation between Mirai, Tatsumi, Naruto, and Sai. "I've missed you girls! How are you all?"

_"We're doing great," _Eleanor replied._ "Thank you for asking!"_

"How is Ame right now?"

_"Still as rainy as ever,"_ Eleanor pointed to the window of the bedroom, where raindrops smacked lightly against the glass panes.

Velvet asked, _"How about you? How are you doing over there?"_

Sarada quickly glanced around the room to check if there was anything sensitive or secret, and there was nothing of the sort. She only saw that Mirai and Tatsumi were about to leave. She panned her phone from side to side so that Naruto, Sai, Mirai, and Tatsumi would all be visible to Team KVEM on the other end of the call.

"I'm here at work," she explained. "Anyway, why did you guys call?"

_"Well…" _Kirakira spoke,_ "We heard about what happened…"_

Sarada was left frozen and speechless for a few seconds, while her mind quickly narrowed down what Kirakira could be referring to. "Wait a minute, what exactly did you hear about? Boruto or Mitsuki?"

_"Both actually! How is Boruto?"_

"I… I'm not really sure. He's on a journey right now with Dad. I don't know yet when they'll be back."

_"We heard about that too… Wishing them safe travels!"_

"Thanks… Wait! Who told you? It was supposed to be a secret!"

Suddenly, Magilou interrupted with a smile and a devious-sounding warning, "Kirakira, if you don't cut to the chase, I might blurt it out loud…"

Kirakira turned and shook her head. _"Hold on!"_

Magilou continued nonetheless, _"We found a lost pet snake, if you know what I mean, Sarada."_ She then winked at the camera, while Kirakira sighed in relief and conceded that what Magilou said was okay. On the other hand, Sarada could not believe what she just heard. Hope began to build up inside her, and she felt as if she was going to explode in happiness.

With a twinkle in her eye, Kirakira asked Sarada, _"Well, did you understand Magilou-"_

"IS HE REALLY THERE?"

Sarada wasn't able to contain herself, so Naruto and Sai were both startled by her sudden burst of energy. "Sarada," asked Naruto, "what's going on?"

Kirakira nodded and answered, _"Yes, he's here! He'll be staying at my house for the foreseeable future! And as for why I didn't tell you at the start of the call, sorry about that! He told us to be very discreet about it."_

"It's fine, I was starting to get the hints anyway! I'm just relieved, phew… Thank you for telling me!" She then turned to Naruto and Sai while removing her earphones and putting them back in her pocket. "Mitsuki is safe! He's in Ame right now!"

"Thank goodness!" Naruto raised his fists in the air, while Sai leaned back on his chair and relaxed.

_"He'll be safe with us," _Eleanor assured them, her voice now coming from the phone's speaker. _"We'll take good care of him!"_

Sarada noted, "Can you say hi and thank you to Lady Fourth, Lady Fifth, and Lord Sixth for me?"

_"Sure thing,"_ Velvet and Kirakira replied at the same time.

"Also, can we see Mitsuki?"

Magilou broke into a fit of laughter. _"Oh no, Sarada!" _She continued with a large and obvious measure of gentle sarcasm. _"You said his name out loud over the Internet! Now his dad, whom he thinks could see and spy on our call, one of many thousands happening at this instant, will catch him and punish him! His words, not mine!"_

Sarada tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Eleanor sighed. _"Why must you make it sound so weird, Magilou?"_

Magilou giggled,_ "I was just poking a bit of fun at his paranoia."_

_"Mitsuki isn't sure about the integrity and security of video chatting on the Internet," _Velvet explained to Sarada._ "Again, that's why we were beating around the bush about Mitsuki, hoping you'd get our hints. But if I remember correctly, my Uncle told me this application is very secure."_

"That's what Denki told me before as well," Sarada concurred. "He said that hackers aren't able to access the calls in this app, so they can't see or hear anything that happens here."

Kirakira repeated what Sarada had just said to Mitsuki, emphasizing the point that appearing and talking in the video call was perfectly safe for him to do. Finally, the runaway shinobi relented, sat on the bed beside Kirakira, and waved to his teammate. _"Hi Sarada! Lord Hokage and Sai-sensei too. I'm glad I'm able to see you again."_

"I could say the same thing!" Sarada couldn't help but let a few tears fall. "I've been so scared and worried for you… But I'm just so relieved to know that you're okay. And Kirakira, you said he's staying at your place for the time being, right?"

_"I can't go back to Konoha anytime soon," _Mitsuki answered for Kirakira. _"If I do, then people will see me, maybe attack me, and definitely bring attention to me. If my father finds out… well, he tried to eliminate me. But thankfully, the self-destruct seal jammed so it can't detonate. I'll have an operation here very soon to remove the seal. Still, who knows what father will attempt next if he finds out I'm alive… By the way Sarada, I'll tell you more about what exactly happened in a private conversation."_

"Alright then, later tonight," Sarada made a mental note to call him through Kirakira again that night, when she would be resting at home.

"Wait, so Orochimaru did try to kill you," Naruto clarified.

_"Yes, though I understand why he did. If ever I fall into the wrong hands, my body and DNA, the things he researched and experimented on for many years, could be used against him and against everybody else. I don't want that to happen either. And I don't want my friends to suffer just to protect me either. So I'm staying here in Ame for everyone's sake."_

_"And the Amekages will help him lie low here," _Kirakira added_. "They'll also provide extra surveillance, so he'll be as safe as can be here. Still, I hope we get a solution soon, so Mitsuki can be with you guys again."_

"I see," Naruto nodded. "I'll try to talk to your father about this."

"No," Mitsuki protested. "Please, keep all of this secret. Don't inform my father that I survived, lest he or anybody else try to kill me again."

"But how can we solve this without telling your dad?"

_"I… I don't know yet. I think for now, I'll train hard here and get stronger and more skilled, so in the future I can stand up to my father and stand on my own two feet. All I know is that if it's about me now, my father cannot be trusted."_

*******XXXXXXX*******

The sun was approaching the far-off horizon, and the majestic clouds above contrasted against the scarlet sky, though Boruto paid no attention to the sight. His eyes were closed as he sat against a large rock along the woody trail. The young shinobi was waiting for Sasuke, who told him to stay right there while he scouted the road ahead to their destination, Oto, the capital city of the Land of Sound. Boruto recalled Sasuke telling him that morning that they were close to the border between the Sound Nation and the Fire Nation. To be more exact, they were around five kilometers away from the Valley of the End, where the twin statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha stood on opposite banks of the river and waterfall that delineated the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound. It was also where a bridge with one of the border crossing stations between the two countries stood as well.

Sasuke had not yet returned to the campsite, which Boruto found slightly odd since he had left shortly after lunchtime. But he didn't mind it either. His mind was still preoccupied with what he had been thinking about for the entire day, about what he dreamed of last night.

"I'm… going to lose… everything and everyone I care about…" He reflected on Momoshiki's prophecy for him, and he couldn't help but feel that it was all coming true. Sumire was gone forever. Metal was as well, and so were all the other members of the Konoha Squadron who perished. Sarada was no longer by his side, and neither were Mitsuki and his sensei Konohamaru. They, along with the rest of his family and friends, were back in Konoha. And aside from Sarada, none of his friends, not even Mitsuki, came to see him and say goodbye to him before he left. Even Sasuke wasn't there with him at the moment.

Boruto was alone in this unforgiving and cruel world.

It was one of the worst feelings he had ever felt in his entire life.

And it was then that Boruto realized his greatest fear: That he would be left all alone in the end, that he would be left behind by everyone he would ever love.

"You're not alone, Boruto-kun." Boruto opened his eyes and turned to the voice at his right ear. Sure enough, he saw Sumire sitting beside him, her shoulder leaning against his, her shining purple eyes staring into his own. "You won't ever be alone. I promised you, remember?"

"I know… I also know I'm going crazy," Boruto responded. "I saw what happened to you, but I still see you now. If that's not me losing my mind, I don't know what is."

The visage of Sumire shook her head and gently smiled. "You're not insane," she assured him.

"I am," Boruto insisted. "Maybe this is my brain's way of coping with the trauma I've gone through… losing you and everybody else…"

This time, Sumire did not respond to him. For a while, they sat there in silence, and Boruto heard nothing else other the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind and the sound of their breathing, unsynchronized but still somehow complementing each other. But even if no words were being said, he still felt her warmth and her company, as if she never left him.

After what seemed like a few minutes passed by, he felt Sumire pushing off of him to stand up. He asked her, "What's happening?"

"Come along with me Boruto-kun, it's almost golden hour." Sumire walked further down the trail that he and Sasuke were supposed to take to the Valley of the End, a path that Boruto had no knowledge or familiarity of. He hesitated because Sasuke, who feared that he might get lost, told him not to leave their campsite. But on the other hand, Boruto didn't want her to leave his side, he didn't want to be left alone again, and he trusted Sumire with his life, even if this version of Sumire was just a figment of his imagination. So he decided to follow her.

Meanwhile, a few kilometers south, Sasuke was roaming the forest. For the past few days, he had secretly been searching for Mitsuki, but up until now he found no sign of him or of an explosion in the vast expanses of the forests north of Konoha. Reaching in his pocket, he looked once again at the latest message he had received from Sai, which he first read in the early morning hours, that gave him coordinates for an approximate search area to scour through.

Since his phone could not reach any signal in the middle of the forest, Sasuke communicated with those back in Konoha via messenger birds. It was through one such paper bird, obviously the handiwork of Sai, that Naruto informed Sasuke of Mitsuki's situation and asked him if he could spare some time to look for him and, if he was found, accompany him back to Konoha.

Sasuke agreed, and in turn further suggested that they do not inform Boruto about it. He felt it was likely that if Boruto found out what Mitsuki was going through, he would change his mind about the journey and decide instead to stay in Konoha to help his dear friend and teammate through this. While that would be very altruistic and potentially helpful to Mitsuki, Boruto, and Sarada, Sasuke knew it was risky to let Boruto remain in Konoha while still recuperating from the severe trauma of losing people he loved, like Sumire. He feared that Boruto returning to Konoha so soon would in fact be detrimental to his mental health, and the whole point of Sasuke bringing him on an adventure and journey across the continent was to help his mind, soul, and mental health recover. Naruto and Sarada agreed with him there, so every day he made the excuse to Boruto that he would be scouting ahead, when in fact he was actually searching for Mitsuki.

Unexpectedly, Sasuke heard the familiar rustling of dry paper wings, and he saw another origami bird flying his way. He reached out his hand to give it a place to land, and once it did, he carefully unfolded it and read the message inside. "He's safe. He's in Ame, in good condition and in good hands. He'll stay there for the meantime, at the home of an old friend of his. Former Amekages, Lady Fourth and Lady Fifth, will help him adjust to life there. The Sixth Amekage will keep it top secret. Remember, Orochimaru must not know."

Sasuke exhaled relief. He pulled out a pen and wrote that he saw and understood the letter and its contents, and refolded the origami bird. He raised it in the air and watched as it flew back to Konoha. After it disappeared above the foliage of the trees, he made his way back to the place where he and his student stopped to make camp that lunchtime.

But when he returned to the campsite, Boruto wasn't there any longer.

*******XXXXXXX*******

As Boruto followed his Sumire further up the trail, the tree line began to thin, the slope slightly steeper, and the ground became noticeably rockier.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Sumire assured him. "We're almost there."

The path soon rounded a steep hillside, and the purple-haired kunoichi stopped to marvel at the sunset. Boruto saw the giant reservoir lake of the Valley of the End, which fed the river and waterfall further downstream. Parts of the lake surface were shrouded in fog. The cirrus clouds high in the sky were now reddish and prominent and wispy. On the opposite side of the lake stood tall mountains that were part of the Land of Sound, and from where Boruto stood, he could also make out the statues of Hashirama and Madara in the north, but only if he strained his eyes enough.

"Woah…" Boruto commented as he took in the breathtaking sight. It was so enchanting that he took a few steps closer to the edge of the cliff to get a better view. However, his last step was at the very edge, and the age-weathered stone there gave way. He nearly walked off the cliffside, without even intending to.

But he felt something prevent him from falling, and he turned back and saw that Sumire had grabbed hold of his hand, tugging him back to the safety of firm ground. With her help, Boruto stepped back onto the path, and Sumire pulled him a bit further from the edge just to be safe.

"Boruto-kun! Be careful, please!"

"I'm sorry… I didn't notice, you know? I swear…"

Sumire sighed and nodded. "It's alright." She turned her head back to the sunset, which was painting the darkening sky many shades of gold and orange. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Boruto nodded in response. He then asked her, "How did you know this place? Do you know these parts?"

"My team once went on a mission around here. We took care of a bunch of bandits." She reminisced about the memory. "I think it was around the time that Namida was learning Water Style, because she wanted it to diversify her arsenal."

"You told me about that before, but I've only seen Namida use Water Style like a handful of times."

"She doesn't use the Water Style much because she interned under Orochimaru and all. She learned so many Sound Style jutsus, including the Fonic Hymns, so Sound Style is working well for her now."

"Oh yeah, I remember that she told us about that in our group reunion at Thunder Burger. Right before… everything popped off…"

Boruto's mind flashed back to everything important that had happened since that reunion about two months prior, from the Kara Assault and the siege on Konoha, to the birthday party of Sumire and the leaking of her identity, to the outbreak of the Fifth Great Ninja War, to their trips to Ame and Spur, to their assignment to the passes of Mount Tirad, to the desperate and bloody battles that followed, to the fateful morning of July 7 and the descent through the storm to Spur, to the three weeks of recovery at Ame, the return to Konoha, and even to his attempt at ending his own life. As he remembered everything while watching the sun descend into the horizon, he felt his heart feel a flash of pain, and he winced because of it.

"Boruto-kun, are you okay?"

Boruto looked at Sumire's worried face. "Sumire, please answer me… If I'm not going insane, then how come you're still here with me?"

"You'll know in due time. I promise."

"You won't tell me?"

"I don't think you'll understand… I admit, even I don't fully understand it… Sorry…"

Boruto's face fell. "But…" He perked back up when Sumire grasped his hand, interlocked their fingers, and said, "I promised that I'll always be here for you, right Boruto-kun?" He nodded, squeezing her hand in return. Sumire continued, "I intend to keep that promise, one way or another."

"So you'll be with me forever?"

Sumire smiled and giggled. "Forever and a day."

For the first time in a long time, Boruto was able allow himself to laugh, even for just a while. "I… I'll take it. And I'll hold you to that promise, you know?"

Unbeknownst to Boruto, Sasuke was watching. After finding the campsite empty, Sasuke had a brief moment of panic, but then he saw the footprint of Boruto's shoe in the ground that pointed further along the trail. So he quickly put everything in the campsite into a handy Kaminarimon storage scroll and rushed to try and catch up. He caught sight of Boruto when he was seemingly hanging in the air instead of falling off. And then it looked to Sasuke that he was pulled backwards by an invisible force, and this utterly surprised and bothered Sasuke, who decided to wait behind the bend of the path.

And as he listened to Boruto talking to nobody in particular, addressing the empty space beside him as Sumire, and his left hand gripping thin air as if he was holding her hand, Sasuke wondered, _"What if it isn't a hallucination after all?"_

Finally, after a long moment of silence that followed Boruto's mirthful laughter, Sasuke left his spot and walked up beside him. He asked in a calm voice, "Why did you leave before I came back?"

Boruto noticed his sensei standing to his right, on the opposite side as Sumire who was at his left. In response to his master's question, he pointed to the sun setting on the vast lake in front of them. "It's beautiful…"

Sasuke agreed that it was a gorgeous sunset. Nevertheless, he pressed on. "I heard you talking to Sumire."

"That too," Boruto conceded. The young Uzumaki looked left, where he still saw Sumire. He squeezed her hand, and he still felt her squeeze back.

"You miss her dearly, don't you?"

"Yeah… I miss her so much…"

With his one arm, Sasuke patted his prized student's shoulder. "Listen Boruto," he empathized, "I know you love her… And if you and Sumire really loved each other… Even if your 'forever' was far shorter than you would have hoped… Know that Sumire will always be with you, now and perhaps until the end of time itself…"

While he felt Sasuke's hand on his shoulder, Boruto also felt his Sumire embrace him, her warm arms wrapping tightly around his torso.

"I'll always watch over you," Sumire spoke lovingly, seemingly affirming his thoughts, and her voice drowned out Sasuke's from Boruto's ears. "Boruto-kun, my forever fall… I love you, now and forevermore…"

Whether or not she was just his mind's hallucination, Boruto simply didn't care anymore. The only thing that mattered to him was that it felt so real, and that made all the difference in the world. Even though everyone else in the entire world might label him as schizophrenic or insane, he placed his full trust in Sumire when she promised she would never leave his side. Thus, he resolved to himself that Sumire was indeed with him, from this day on, until his very last day. "I love you too, Sumire…"

"Always remember, my dear Boruto-kun: Loved ones will always watch over you."

* * *

**_So... how was it? I hope you all loved the final chapters of my first novel! ^_^_**

**_The story began with a sunset, and now it ends with a sunset. Thus ends A Tale of Grace (the book, but not the series of partly the same name: A Tale of Grace-A Song of Love). And yes, the final scene is partly based on a famous fan art for Boruto (literally what I described in that scene XD)  
_****_I'm kind of sad that it ended actually, but I can't afford to mope around! I will work on the sequels now! And boy, do I have a lot in store for you guys in the next one! =D_**

**_What were quotable or memorable lines? And what do you think is happening, and what do you think will happen in the next book? I'd love it if you guys left reviews/quotable quotes/predictions, as well as kudos/likes! Thanks for all your support! I love you all so much! =D_**

**_So an update on the next book... as you know, the second book of AToG-ASoL series is titled, "A Spark of Hope". It's almost fully planned out at this point, though changes to the subplots or characters (or the order of the chapters I've planned out) can still happen, for sure. _**

**_And I can tell you that the first chapter of the second book will be titled, "Three Long Years". So you probably know the gap between A Tale of Grace and A Spark of Hope =D  
_****_(of course, events that happen between the books, and there will be quite a lot, will be explained in A Spark of Hope =D)_**

**_In the meantime, I'll be uploading other stories as well! Some are also Boruto-related, but others are about Bloom Into You/YagaKimi, RWBY, and others! Look out for those!  
_****_Also, an important question (you can leave your answers in the reviews section as well, or you can DM me at my twitter, LawlessSophie7): _****_Would you guys prefer it if I uploaded each chapter once or twice a month (based on my current writing speed XD)? Or are you willing to wait for a long time (maybe before the end of the year, at most?) for me to flesh out my work first, and probably make it writing past halfway through the book before I start uploading the first chapters? (like I did with A Tale of Grace) =O_**

**_Anyway, I'll see you guys around! I'll try to enjoy my birthday today! Feel free to talk to me in the comments section or at LawlessSophie7 for your theories, suggestions, and maybe even influence the plot a bit LOLJOKE ;) XD =D_**


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